Jonathan’s 2027 Eligibility Suit Hit with N1m Court Sanction
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has imposed a N1 million cost on a plaintiff seeking to legally bar former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, after months of procedural negligence nearly derailed the case entirely.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the ruling on Friday, expressing clear frustration at the conduct of both the plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi, and his counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, describing their repeated failure to advance the case as “unacceptable” and ordering the fine in favour of Jonathan as the first defendant.
“This case is for hearing today and the hearing has been frustrated or aborted due to the tardiness of the plaintiff who is a lawyer by training and calling. Consequently, I hold that punishment should lie where the fault is,” Justice Lifu stated from the bench.
The suit, filed on October 6, 2025, seeks to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate in 2027 and to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from accepting, processing, or publishing his name. At its core, the case asks the court to determine whether, under Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan retains eligibility to seek the presidency again.
Yet despite more than six months passing since the suit was filed, the court noted that INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation had still not been served with the originating summons, a fundamental procedural requirement. The situation worsened on Friday when neither Jideobi nor Ukpai appeared in court at the appointed time, despite the plaintiff himself having personally requested the 2pm hearing date just days earlier on May 11.
Jonathan’s counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs, accusing the plaintiff and his lawyer of showing “absolute disdain and disrespect” to the court.
“The plaintiff thinks he can hold the court and other parties to ransom and stay back in the comfort of his house and drag all of us to court. There must be a consequence for every action,” Uche argued, adding that the former president only learned of the suit through media reports before eventually being served.
Counsel to the AGF, J.D. Esho, also confirmed that her office had not received the originating processes despite receiving Jonathan’s response to the suit, further underscoring the lapses.
Ukpai eventually entered the courtroom midway through proceedings, apologising and attributing the delay to a vehicle breakdown. The court, however, had already proceeded. Jonathan’s legal team had sought N5 million in costs, but Justice Lifu reduced the award to N1 million in the interest of fair hearing.
The judge ordered Jideobi to serve all court processes on INEC and the AGF within two hours, directed the second and third defendants to file responses before 11am on May 18, 2026, and adjourned the matter to the same date for definitive hearing on all pending applications.