BREAKING: Court Says Jonathan Is Eligible for 2027 Presidential Election

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu held that there is no legal impediment preventing the former president from seeking another term in office.
The court dismissed a suit filed by Abuja-based lawyer, Jideobi Johnmary, describing it as frivolous, incompetent, and an abuse of the court process. Justice Lifu further ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing required to institute the action.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, challenged Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the presidency again on the grounds that he had already taken the presidential oath of office twice.
In the suit, the plaintiff asked the court to determine:
“Whether, having regard to the combined provisions of Sections 1(1), 1(2), 1(3), and 137(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and upon a proper interpretation of those provisions, the 1st Defendant is eligible, under any circumstances whatsoever, to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The plaintiff also sought:
“An order of perpetual injunction” restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate in the 2027 election and any future presidential elections.
An order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting, processing, or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
However, the court held that the issue surrounding Jonathan’s eligibility had already been conclusively settled by the Court of Appeal.
In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, the plaintiff argued that if Jonathan were elected in 2027 and completed another four-year tenure, he would exceed the constitutional limit of eight years in office.
According to the affidavit:
“The plaintiff believes that the 1st Defendant, having completed the unexpired tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and subsequently served a full term following the 2011 presidential election, has exhausted the constitutional limit of two tenures as President.
“That if this Honourable Court does not intervene timeously, a political party may present the 1st Defendant as its presidential candidate in the 2027 general election, thereby breaching the Constitution.”
The plaintiff further argued that:
“In the event that the 1st Defendant is elected and sworn in as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2027, it would constitute the third occasion on which he would be taking the presidential oath of office.”
Despite the arguments presented, the court maintained that the suit lacked merit and consequently dismissed the case in its entirety.