Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation have urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to throw out a lawsuit seeking to bar him from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Peter Lifu has fixed 26 May for a composite judgment, which will also address a request by the plaintiff asking the judge to step down over alleged bias.
The suit, filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, asks the court to interpret provisions of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, particularly whether Jonathan is eligible to run again after previously completing the tenure of late President Umaru Yar’Adua and later serving a full elected term.
In court filings, the plaintiff argued that Jonathan had effectively exhausted the constitutional limit, having first taken the oath of office in May 2010 following Yar’Adua’s death, and again after winning the 2011 presidential election.
But Jonathan’s lawyer, Chris Uche, urged the court to dismiss the case, describing it as politically motivated. He argued that constitutional amendments restricting multiple oaths of office cannot be applied retroactively.
“He has no locus standi to bring this action and no cause of action has crystallised,” Uche told the court, while also seeking ₦50 million in costs against the plaintiff.
The Federal Government, represented by Maimuna Lamin Shiru from the Ministry of Justice, also backed the call for dismissal, asking the court to strike out the suit in its entirety.
However, counsel to the plaintiff, Ndubuisi Ukpai, insisted the case was valid, arguing that being a registered voter is not a requirement to initiate such legal action and urging the court to reject the objections raised by Jonathan and the government.
The court is expected to rule on both the substantive suit and the recusal application on 26 May.
