Former President Goodluck Jonathan and Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi have urged the Abuja Federal High Court to throw out a lawsuit aiming to block Jonathan from running in the 2027 presidential election.
Presiding Judge Justice Peter Lifu has scheduled May 26 for a composite judgment, which will also address an application by the plaintiff, Abuja-based legal practitioner Johnmary Jideobi, seeking the judge’s recusal. Through his originating summons, Jideobi is asking the court to interpret sections 1(1), (2), (3), and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution regarding Jonathan’s eligibility to contest. The plaintiff maintains that Jonathan has exhausted his constitutional limit, having assumed office to finish late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s tenure before serving a full four-year term after winning the 2011 election.
In a supporting affidavit, Emmanuel Agida noted that Jonathan took the presidential oath twice: first on May 6, 2010, after Yar’Adua’s passing, and again on May 29, 2011, after winning the election. Meanwhile, Jideobi filed a formal request on Monday asking Justice Lifu to step down over alleged bias, arguing the court unfairly cut short the 14 days he was originally given to respond to Jonathan’s filings. In response, Jonathan’s lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to throw out the case and order Jideobi to pay a ₦50 million penalty.
Jonathan’s lawyer, Chris Uche, cited previous dismissed cases—such as those filed by Andy Solomon and Cyracus Njoku—to argue that the lawsuit lacks merit. He stated that the amendment to Section 137(3) of the Constitution, which blocks individuals from running if they have taken the oath of office twice, cannot be applied retroactively to Jonathan, who last ran in 2015. Uche accused the plaintiff of using the court as a political tool and argued that Jideobi lacks the legal standing (locus standi) to sue, as he failed to show how the case directly affects him or prove he is even a registered voter. Representing the Ministry of Justice, Dr. Maimuna Lamin Shiru also urged the court to throw out the case. However, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ndubuisi Ukpai, countered that voter registration is not a requirement to file the suit and asked the court to reject the defense’s objections.
