A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election, dismissing a suit seeking to stop his potential return to office.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu held that Jonathan could lawfully seek the presidency again and described the case filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi as an abuse of court process.
Jideobi had asked the court to bar Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate in 2027 and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting or publishing his nomination.
The plaintiff argued that Jonathan had already taken the presidential oath twice — first after the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and again following his victory in the 2011 election — and therefore could not seek another term under the 1999 Constitution.
In court filings, the plaintiff claimed that if Jonathan won and served from 2027 to 2031, he would exceed the constitutional maximum of eight years in office for a Nigerian president.
However, Justice Lifu ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to file the case because he failed to show any personal injury or loss arising from Jonathan’s possible ambition.
The judge noted that both a Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had previously affirmed Jonathan’s eligibility to run for president again, adding that he was bound by those decisions.
The court awarded N20 million costs against Jideobi in favour of Jonathan and an additional N1 million in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Justice Lifu also dismissed a separate application seeking his withdrawal from the case, calling it frivolous.
The ruling comes days after a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki reportedly offered Jonathan a waiver to emerge as the party’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
