A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest in the 2027 presidential election, dismissing a suit seeking to disqualify him.
The case was brought by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, who asked the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself as a candidate to any political party for the 2027 poll. He also sought an order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting, processing, or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
Jideobi had asked the court to determine whether, based on Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan remained eligible to seek the office of president again.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu held that Jonathan could lawfully participate in the election. The judge noted that both a Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had previously ruled that Jonathan was eligible to run, and that he was bound by the appellate court’s decision.
Justice Lifu also ruled that Jideobi lacked the legal standing to bring the suit, as he had not suffered any direct loss from Jonathan’s alleged intention to run. The judge described the lawsuit as “an abuse of court process” and dismissed a motion by Jideobi seeking the judge’s recusal, calling the motion frivolous.
The court awarded a N20 million fine against Jideobi in favour of the former president, and an additional N1 million fine in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The ruling comes after a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki last week offered Jonathan a waiver as the party’s sole presidential candidate for 2027.