Politics
Court Declares Jonathan Eligible for 2027 Presidential Election, Slams Plaintiff with N21m Fine Over ‘Abuse Of Court Process’
The judgment, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, put to rest a contentious legal battle filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who had asked the court to disqualify Jonathan from participating in the next presidential race.
Abuja, Nigeria– The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday declared former President Goodluck Jonathan eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election, while imposing heavy financial penalties on the lawyer who challenged his eligibility.
The judgment, delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, put to rest a contentious legal battle filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who had asked the court to disqualify Jonathan from participating in the next presidential race.
Jideobi, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, had urged the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate, and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing his name.
He argued that Jonathan, having previously been sworn in twice as Nigeria’s President—first completing the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later winning the 2011 election—had exhausted the constitutional limit of two terms as provided under the 1999 Constitution.
The plaintiff warned that allowing Jonathan to contest and potentially win in 2027 would amount to a third presidential oath of office, which he described as unconstitutional and a breach of Nigeria’s democratic limits.
However, Justice Lifu dismissed the suit in its entirety, ruling that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the action, adding that he failed to demonstrate any personal injury arising from Jonathan’s alleged political ambition.
The judge further held that the matter had already been settled by earlier decisions of both the Court of Appeal and a Federal High Court in Yenagoa, which affirmed Jonathan’s eligibility to contest elections, making the current suit incompetent and an abuse of court process.
In a stinging rebuke, the court imposed a N20 million fine against Jideobi in favour of Jonathan and an additional N1 million against him in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Justice Lifu also dismissed an application seeking his recusal from the case, describing it as frivolous and lacking merit.
Meanwhile, political ripples are already trailing the judgment, as a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki last week reportedly offered Jonathan a waiver to emerge as the party’s sole presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 elections.
