A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election and any future presidential race.
Justice Peter Lifu struck out the case on grounds that it lacked merit and constituted an abuse of court process.
The suit was filed by Johnmary Jideobi, who asked the court to determine whether Jonathan was constitutionally qualified to seek the presidency again under the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
Delivering judgment, Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff failed to establish how Jonathan’s possible participation in future elections directly affected his personal interest, ruling that he lacked the legal standing to institute the action.
The judge further described the suit as frivolous and a waste of judicial time, particularly because previous courts had already delivered judgments on similar matters.
Justice Lifu subsequently awarded N20 million in costs against the plaintiff in favour of Jonathan and an additional N1 million in favour of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
However, the Independent National Electoral Commission was not awarded costs because it did not actively participate in the proceedings.
The court referenced earlier decisions in Andy Solomon v. Jonathan at the Federal High Court and Cyracus Njoku v. Jonathan at the Court of Appeal, both of which dismissed similar challenges to Jonathan’s eligibility.
Justice Lifu stated that there was nothing new to add beyond the reasoning already established in those judgments.
The judge also expressed disappointment that the plaintiff and his counsel proceeded with the case despite being aware of the earlier rulings.
Filed in October 2025, the suit argued that Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional two-term limit for presidents under Sections 1 and 137(3) of the Nigerian Constitution.
The plaintiff contended that Jonathan completed the remaining tenure of late President Umaru Yar’Adua between 2010 and 2011 before winning and serving a full four-year term after the 2011 presidential election.
Jideobi had asked the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining Jonathan from presenting himself as a presidential candidate in 2027 or in future elections.
He also sought an order preventing INEC from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate and requested that the Attorney General enforce compliance with the proposed injunctions.
During the proceedings, the plaintiff maintained that Jonathan had effectively served more than the constitutionally permitted tenure in office and was therefore ineligible to contest again.
Jonathan, INEC and the Attorney General were listed as defendants in the matter.
