A lawsuit contesting former President Goodluck Jonathan's eligibility for the 2027 presidential election was dismissed by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday. The plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi, brought the lawsuit based on a constitutional provision that forbids anyone from being sworn in as president more than twice. The court, Peter Lifu, also imposed a N20 million fine on Jideobi. Mr. Jonathan was given the fine. A N1 million fine was also imposed by the judge against the plaintiff and in favor of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
Since Mr. Jonathan's alleged plan to run for president in 2027 did not do Mr. Jideobi any harm, Mr. Lifu ruled that Mr. Jideobi lacked the legal standing to file the lawsuit. The Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had already determined that Mr. Jonathan was qualified to run; the judge claimed he was bound by the appellate court's ruling. The judge subsequently referred to the attorney's lawsuit as "an abuse of court process." Additionally, Justice Lifu denied Jideobi's request for the judge to withdraw from the case as frivolous.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Jideobi filed lawsuits against Mr. Jonathan, the AGF, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The plaintiff contended that Sections 1(1), (2), and (3), as well as 137(3), of the constitution prohibit Mr. Jonathan from running for president again in 2027 because he has already been sworn in twice. He contended that INEC is not authorized by the constitution to accept Jonathan's nomination for president in 2027. Additionally, he requested that the court order the Federation's Attorney General to carry out any directives.
During the case hearing on May 18, Mr. Jonathan and the AGF objected to the plaintiff's request that the judge step down from the case due to suspected bias. Mr. Uche, Mr. Jonathan's attorney, called the application frivolous and a misuse of the legal system. He urged the court to move forward with the substantive suit and reject the application.
