Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday contested a suit filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, which seeks to prevent him from running in the 2027 presidential election.
Jonathan, through his counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, made the challenge before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, shortly after the matter was called for hearing.
Uche informed the court that Jonathan’s legal team had filed a letter of conditional appearance, a notice of preliminary objection, a counter affidavit, and a written address on May 5, requesting the court to dismiss the suit. He explained that they had only learned of the case through the media, prompting them to file the necessary documents swiftly, given the significance of the matter, which concerns Jonathan’s eligibility to contest in the upcoming election.
The senior lawyer expressed concern that the suit was filed by a legal practitioner, arguing that the issue had already been resolved by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal.
Counsel for the plaintiff, Ndubuisi Ukpai, informed the court that the case was scheduled for mention, but he had only just been served with Jonathan’s legal documents. Ukpai requested more time to respond to the filed processes.
Justice Lifu adjourned the case until May 11 at 2:00 PM for a hearing on Jonathan’s objection and the main suit. The judge also ordered that hearing notices be issued to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), who are the second and third defendants in the case.
Jideobi’s suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, was filed on October 6, 2025, and asks the court to bar Jonathan from participating in the 2027 presidential election. Citing constitutional grounds, Jideobi seeks a permanent injunction to prevent Jonathan from presenting himself as a candidate to any political party or having his name accepted by INEC.
