A federal high court in Abuja will on Friday hear a suit seeking to stop former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Peter Lifu had on April 28 ordered that hearing notices be served on the defendants after they failed to file responses in the matter.
The suit was filed by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, who is asking the court to declare Jonathan constitutionally ineligible to seek the presidency again.
Jideobi is seeking an order restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a candidate in the 2027 election.
He also asked the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
Jonathan is listed as the first defendant in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, while INEC and the attorney-general of the federation are listed as second and third defendants respectively.
The plaintiff asked the court to determine whether, under sections 1(1), (2) and (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan is eligible to contest for president again.
According to court documents, the plaintiff argued that Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional limit by completing the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua before winning and serving another full term after the 2011 election.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Emmanuel Agida, who deposed on behalf of the plaintiff, said Jonathan was sworn in as president on May 6, 2010, following Yar’Adua’s death a day earlier.
Agida said reports suggesting Jonathan may contest the 2027 election prompted the legal action.
“That the plaintiff believes that the 1st defendant, having completed the unexpired term of late President Yar’Adua and subsequently served a full term after the 2011 election, has exhausted the constitutional limit of two tenures as president,” the affidavit stated.
The plaintiff further argued that if Jonathan contests and wins the election, he would be taking the presidential oath for a third time.
Jonathan, who served as president between 2010 and 2015, has not formally declared any intention to contest the 2027 election.
The Guardian
