A Federal High Court in Abuja has thrown out a lawsuit seeking to prevent former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Delivering judgment, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the case filed by Johnmary Jideobi lacked merit and constituted an abuse of court process. The judge held that the plaintiff failed to prove how Jonathan’s potential participation in the election would personally affect him, thereby lacking the legal standing required to institute the suit.
The court also imposed a N21 million penalty on the plaintiff, awarding N20 million to Jonathan and N1 million to the Attorney General of the Federation for what it described as a frivolous case and a waste of judicial time.
Justice Lifu noted that similar suits had previously been dismissed by other courts, including the cases of Andy Solomon v. Jonathan at the Federal High Court and Cyracus Njoku v. Jonathan at the Court of Appeal. He stated that those earlier decisions had already settled the matter.
The suit, filed in October 2025, argued that Jonathan was constitutionally ineligible to seek the presidency again because he completed the remainder of late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s tenure between 2010 and 2011 before serving a full term after winning the 2011 election.
Jideobi had asked the court to stop Jonathan from contesting future presidential elections and to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting his candidacy. However, the court rejected all the requests, effectively leaving the former president free to contest in 2027 if he decides to run.
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