A legal practitioner, Johnmary Jideobi, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to prevent former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting in the 2027 presidential election.
In the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jideobi listed Jonathan as the first defendant, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation were cited as the second and third defendants.
The lawyer is asking the court to issue a perpetual injunction barring Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party for nomination and also restraining INEC from publishing his name as a presidential candidate.
According to an affidavit filed by Emmanuel Agida, the plaintiff argued that allowing Jonathan to run again would violate the 1999 Constitution, as he had already served as President for over five years between 2010 and 2015, and another four-year term would exceed the constitutionally allowed maximum of eight years in office.
Jideobi urged the court to interpret Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the Constitution to determine Jonathan’s eligibility, maintaining that the law clearly bars anyone who has already held office as President for two terms from contesting again.
He further sought court declarations affirming that Jonathan is ineligible to contest, that INEC lacks the power to accept his nomination, and that the Attorney-General must enforce the court’s final ruling on the matter.
Recently, some political figures have urged Jonathan to rejoin the 2027 race, but the former President has not yet made his position public. Meanwhile, the Presidency commented last week that although Jonathan could run, he would still face scrutiny over what it called his “poor performance” during his previous tenure.
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