A Federal High Court in Abuja, has dismissed a suit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, ruling that the matter had already been settled by earlier judicial decisions.
Key Highlights:
- The Federal High Court, Abuja dismissed a suit seeking to stop Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 election.
- The court ruled his eligibility had already been decided by higher courts.
- Plaintiff lawyer Johnmary Jideobi was fined ₦20 million for a meritless case.
- Jonathan’s legal team, led by Chris Uche, opposed the suit.
- The case was struck out despite involvement of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The court, in its judgment, held that previous rulings by the Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had already determined Jonathan’s constitutional eligibility to run for another term in office.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Peter Lifu struck out the suit for lacking merit and imposed a fine of N20 million on the plaintiff.
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The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, was filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who had sought a perpetual injunction restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party for the purpose of contesting the 2027 presidential election.
The plaintiff also urged the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a duly nominated presidential candidate.
Officials of INEC were present in court during the proceedings.
Jonathan, through his counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), challenged the competence of the suit, describing it as baseless and legally defective.
He argued that the issues raised had already been resolved by superior courts in earlier cases.
His legal team told the court that it filed a conditional appearance, a preliminary objection, counter affidavit and written address on May 5, 2026, urging the court to dismiss the matter.
According to the defence, Jonathan only became aware of the suit through media reports and was compelled to respond due to the sensitive nature of the allegations concerning his eligibility.
Counsel to the plaintiff, Ndubuisi Ukpai, informed the court that he had just been served with the defendants’ processes and would require time to respond.
He added that the matter was originally slated for mention.
The court had earlier ordered that hearing notices be served on INEC and the attorney-general of the federation, listed as second and third defendants, who were absent from proceedings.
The ruling comes amid renewed political speculation over Jonathan’s possible return to active politics ahead of the 2027 general elections.
