Former President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit seeking to stop Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
The suit, filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, argues that Jonathan is constitutionally barred from running again. Jideobi contends that Jonathan has already served the maximum two terms allowed under the 1999 Constitution, having completed the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after his death in 2010 and then serving a full elected term from 2011 to 2015.
At the heart of the case is Section 137(3) of the Constitution, which states that a person who has been sworn in as president twice shall not be eligible to run again. Jideobi is asking the court to declare Jonathan ineligible and issue a perpetual injunction restraining him from presenting himself to any political party for the 2027 race. He also wants the court to bar INEC from accepting Jonathan’s name as a candidate.
Both Jonathan and the AGF opposed the suit when the matter came up on Monday. Through their lawyers, they urged Justice Peter Lifu to dismiss it with substantial costs, describing it as an abuse of court process and a waste of judicial time. Jonathan’s counsel, Chris Uche SAN, cited two previous cases against Jonathan that were dismissed by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The defence also opposed a motion by the plaintiff asking Justice Lifu to recuse himself over alleged bias. Jideobi had claimed the court shortened the time allowed to respond to Jonathan’s counter-affidavit. Both Jonathan and the AGF described the recusal application as frivolous and baseless.
Justice Lifu fixed May 26, 2026, for a composite judgment on the substantive suit and the recusal application.
INEC, listed as the second defendant, had no legal representation in court.
