₦airaland Forum

The Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election or any future presidential race in Nigeria.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, is seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Jonathan from “presenting himself to any political party in Nigeria for nomination as its candidate” for the 2027 poll or any future election.

Jideobi also wants the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate, and to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) to ensure compliance with the court’s decision. INEC and the AGF are listed as the second and third defendants.

In his supporting affidavit, deposed to by one Emmanuel Agida, the plaintiff described himself as an “advocate of constitutionalism and the rule of law.” He argued that Jonathan, having completed the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and subsequently served a full four-year term after winning the 2011 election, had already exhausted the constitutional limit of two terms.

Jideobi said he filed the suit after reading reports in the media about Jonathan’s alleged plan to contest again in 2027. Citing Section 137(3) of the Constitution, he contended that allowing the former president to run would breach the supreme law of the land.

He recalled that Jonathan was sworn in on 6 May 2010 to complete the tenure of the late President Yar’Adua, who died on 5 May 2010. Jonathan was later elected in 2011 and sworn in on 27 May of that year, serving until 2015.

“I know that if the first defendant eventually wins the forthcoming 2027 general election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria—which is for a term of four years spanning 2027 to 2031—he will have exceeded eight years being the cumulative maximum years a Nigerian President is to stay in office,” Jideobi said.

He maintained that the suit was filed in the public interest and prayed the court to declare that Jonathan “is ineligible to stand for or occupy the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” and that INEC lacks the constitutional power to accept or publish his name as a candidate in any presidential election.

He also sought an order directing the AGF to enforce any order the court may make in the matter. “It will be in the interest of justice for this Honourable Court to grant the prayers contained on the face of this originating summons,” the affidavit reads.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.

A similar case was filed in 2022 when Justice Isa Dashen of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state dismissed the suit for lacking merit, ruling that Jonathan was eligible to contest because Section 137(3) of the Constitution, which limits the tenure of anyone who completes another’s term, came into effect after Jonathan had left office. The judge held that the law could not apply retroactively to disqualify him.

That ruling effectively cleared the former president to contest, although he ultimately chose not to join the 2023 race.

Why Jonathan’s name keeps resurfacing ahead of 2027
Jonathan’s name has continued to feature in political circles amid speculation that some political blocs, particularly in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the coalition-led African Democratic Congress (ADC), have been considering him as a potential consensus candidate for the 2027 election.

Calls for his return have recently grown, particularly from the North, as coalition efforts to unseat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027 intensify. Several PDP leaders, including former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido and Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, have publicly urged him to run. At the weekend, former Information Minister Professor Jerry Gana went further, declaring that Jonathan would contest and defeat the ruling APC in 2027.

Penultimate week, Jonathan visited National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark at his Abuja residence. Mark, a former Senate president, served during Jonathan’s administration between 2010 and 2015. While the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, told Daily Trust the visit was private, observers believe it was tied to 2027 permutations, with the ADC said to be weighing Jonathan’s acceptability.

Jonathan, who lost his re-election bid to Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, is believed to be showing renewed interest in politics. Though he has yet to declare formally, his appeal, according to insiders, lies in the constitutional term-limit provision that allows him to serve only one more term — a prospect viewed as a strategic option in balancing the power rotation debate between North and South.

The speculation about his return began in the buildup to the 2023 polls when some northern political leaders and interest groups were reported to have approached him to run under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, citing his perceived neutrality and national appeal. Although he distanced himself from the move at the time, his continued engagement in peace-building efforts and participation in governance reform dialogues have kept him in the national conversation.

Political analysts say the renewed legal challenge reflects both the lingering ambiguity surrounding the constitutional interpretation of presidential tenure and the strategic calculations of interest groups ahead of the 2027 contest.

fergie001:
I saw the news yesterday and was laughing.
Anyways, the lawyer wants to make a name for himself.

A Federal High Court cannot sit on appeal on a suit already decided by same Court. It is estoppelled.

Orlandoo:
Wike is hiding behind the lawyer to test the water.

fergie001:
I don't think so anyways, this is Nigeria ... However, it's a matter that will be thrown out because in 2022, a Federal High Court decided same.

Ofunaofu:
The APC is clearly jittery about a potential Goodluck Jonathan comeback.

Instead of telling Nigerians what they’ve done to improve lives or presenting facts to show that life today is better than it was under the Jonathan administration they’ve become emergency advisers, urging him not to contest. They say he has a reputation to protect, calling him an elder statesman, as if Tinubu an ancestor old enough to be playing with his grandchildren shouldn’t apply the same standard to himself.

When that tactic didn’t work, they shifted to claiming Jonathan would fail. In their warped imagination, they argue that the South-South Jonathan’s own region won’t support him in 2027. Instead, they claim the region will back Tinubu simply because he gave a few appointments to people from there.

But ask them; What has Tinubu done for the South-South? What has he done to improve the lives of Nigerians or raise the standard of living across the country? They can’t name even one thing.

Now, after failing woefully and spectacularly, they’ve resorted to the courts, trying to bar Goodluck Jonathan from contesting.

Yet Jonathan himself has never even declared his intention to run. But the APC is already panicking because they know that if Goodluck Jonathan is on the ballot, there will be no real contest.

The election will be over before it begins.

NOETHNICITY:
I suspect that this lawyer is definitely an obidient who feels threatened by GEJ presence in the race.

Gotocourt:
It's obvious Tinubu will lose the election. The master strategist plotter is in trouble, lord save the King

Orlandoo:
Wike is hiding behind the lawyer to test the water.

Apcnewrecruit:
Make Una allow GEJ to contest. Jagaban will win him before 2pm on the election day. Infact let GEJ, Peter, Atiku, Amaechi, El Rufai make all of them join heads against Tinubu, we are coasting to victory. Even to the supreme court, nothing will happen

success1smyn:
You are not brainy, if you are you will know that Tinubu's supporters actually want Jonathan, Obi, Atiku, etc to all be on the ballot so Tinubu can have an easy passage.