The Federal High Court in Abuja will on Friday hear a case seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election. The suit was filed by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, who asked the court to declare that Jonathan is no longer qualified under the Constitution to seek the office again.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, is before Justice Peter Lifu. The court had earlier directed that hearing notices be served on all parties involved after the defendants failed to respond to the suit within the required period.
Jonathan was listed as the first defendant in the matter, while the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Attorney-General of the Federation were joined as second and third defendants.
The plaintiff is asking the court to prevent Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a candidate for the 2027 presidential election. He also wants the court to stop INEC from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name if he eventually decides to contest.
According to the court documents, the lawyer wants the court to interpret sections of the 1999 Constitution relating to presidential tenure and determine whether Jonathan can legally seek another term in office.
The suit argued that Jonathan already completed the remaining tenure of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after his death in 2010 and later served another full four-year term after winning the 2011 presidential election. The plaintiff maintained that this meant Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional limit allowed for a Nigerian president.
An affidavit attached to the suit stated that Jonathan was sworn in as president on May 6, 2010, following the death of Yar’Adua a day earlier. The affidavit further stated that recent reports suggesting Jonathan might contest the 2027 election led to the decision to file the case before the court.
The plaintiff also argued that if Jonathan contests and eventually wins the election, he would be taking the presidential oath for the third time, which he claimed would go against the provisions of the Constitution.
The legal action, according to the affidavit, was filed in the interest of protecting constitutional order, defending the rule of law and ensuring that the provisions of the Constitution are properly followed.
The hearing is expected to draw attention because of growing political discussions surrounding the 2027 presidential election and speculation about possible contenders ahead of party primaries.