A fresh legal action has been filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to bar former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, was instituted by lawyer Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi, who asked the court to issue an order of perpetual injunction restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party for nomination.
He also urged the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate in any future election.
While Jonathan was listed as the 1st defendant, INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) were joined as the 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
The suit posed a central legal question for the court’s determination:
“Whether, in view of Sections 1(1)-(3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the 1st Defendant is eligible, under any circumstances, to contest for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Jideobi argued that Jonathan, having already served as President between 2010 and 2015, is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election.
He asked the court to declare that under the provisions of the Constitution, Jonathan is ineligible to stand for or occupy the office of President again.
In addition to the declaratory reliefs, the plaintiff sought orders permanently restraining INEC from accepting Jonathan’s name from any political party or recognizing him as a presidential candidate in the 2027 election or beyond.
An affidavit filed in support of the case by Emmanuel Agida described the plaintiff as an “advocate of constitutionalism and the rule of law.”
He contended that if Jonathan were to contest and win the 2027 election, his tenure from 2027 to 2031 would exceed the constitutional limit of eight years allowed for any Nigerian President.
The court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the matter.
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