The Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled in favor of former President Goodluck Jonathan to legally contest the 2027 presidential election, effectively dismissing a suit that sought to bar him from the race.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court of Nigeria while delivering judgment on Tuesday, held that Jonathan remains eligible to vie for the nation’s highest office. The court awarded a ₦20 million fine against the plaintiff, lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, in favour of Jonathan, and an additional ₦1 million cost against him in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Jideobi had approached the court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, asking for orders restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate, and directing the Independent National Electoral Commission not to accept or publish his name for the 2027 election. The suit also urged the court to determine whether Jonathan’s previous tenure, including his completion of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s term and his elected term after 2011, disqualified him under Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
The plaintiff argued that allowing Jonathan to contest and potentially serve another four-year term would amount to a third oath of office, exceeding the constitutional limit of two terms in total.
However, Justice Lifu ruled that the claimant lacked the legal standing to institute the case, noting that he had not demonstrated any personal injury arising from Jonathan’s political ambitions. The judge further held that previous decisions of both the Court of Appeal and a Federal High Court in Yenagoa had already affirmed Jonathan’s eligibility, and he was bound by those precedents. He described the suit as an abuse of court process.
The court also dismissed a motion seeking Justice Lifu’s recusal from the case, describing it as frivolous.
In a related development, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki reportedly granted Jonathan a waiver and positioned him as a potential sole presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 race.
