A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed May 26 for judgment in a suit challenging the eligibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Peter Lifu announced the date after hearing arguments from lawyers representing parties in the suit filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi.
Counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the suit and award N50 million in costs against the plaintiff. He relied on earlier decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which he said had previously dismissed similar cases against the former president.
Uche argued that Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which bars anyone who has taken the oath of office as president more than twice from contesting again, cannot be applied retroactively to Jonathan, who last contested in 2015.
According to him, the plaintiff was attempting to use the courts as a tool for political exclusion, despite constitutional provisions granting qualified citizens the right to seek elective office.
“He has no locus standi to institute the suit, and no cause of action has arisen,” Uche argued, adding that the plaintiff failed to show how Jonathan’s possible candidacy would personally affect him or establish that he is a registered voter with a direct interest in the matter.
Also representing the Attorney General of the Federation, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Dr. Maimuna Lamin Shiru, asked the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
However, counsel to the plaintiff, Ndubuisi Ukpai, argued that being a registered voter is not a requirement for instituting such an action. He urged the court to reject the preliminary objections and counter affidavits filed by Jonathan and the AGF.
Earlier in the proceedings, Jonathan’s lawyer and counsel to the AGF also opposed a separate application by the plaintiff seeking Justice Lifu’s withdrawal from the case over alleged bias.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jideobi is asking the court to determine whether, based on Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan remains eligible to contest the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The plaintiff argued that Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional two-term limit after completing the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and subsequently serving a full term following his victory in the 2011 presidential election.
He is seeking an order restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a candidate for the 2027 election, and also asking the court to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
