Court clears Jonathan to contest 2027 presidential election

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has been declared eligible to participate in the 2027 presidential election following a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, ValidViewNetwork reports.

Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu dismissed a suit filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi seeking to stop Jonathan from contesting the presidency again.

The plaintiff had asked the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a candidate for the 2027 presidential election. He also sought an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jideobi argued that Jonathan was constitutionally barred from seeking the presidency again, having already taken the oath of office twice after completing the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s tenure and serving a full term following the 2011 election.

According to court documents, the plaintiff maintained that if Jonathan contests and wins the 2027 election, he would exceed the constitutional limit of eight years allowed for a Nigerian president.

ADVERTISEMENT

“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.

However, Justice Lifu held that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the case because he failed to show any personal loss or injury arising from Jonathan’s alleged ambition, ValidViewNetwork reports.

The judge further noted that both the Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had earlier ruled that Jonathan remained eligible to contest future presidential elections, adding that he was bound by the appellate court’s decision.

Justice Lifu described the suit as “an abuse of court process” and dismissed a separate application seeking his withdrawal from the case, calling it frivolous.

The court also awarded N20 million damages against Jideobi in favour of Jonathan, while an additional N1 million fine was awarded in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Meanwhile, ValidViewNetwork gathered that a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki had last week offered Jonathan a waiver to emerge as the party’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.