The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally qualified to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Peter Lifu, who dismissed a lawsuit seeking to stop Jonathan from participating in the next presidential race.
The suit was filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who argued that Jonathan should not be allowed to contest again because he had already taken the presidential oath twice. According to the plaintiff, Jonathan first assumed office in 2010 following the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later won the 2011 presidential election, thereby exceeding the constitutional limit for holding office.
However, the court ruled that Jonathan’s case does not violate the constitutional two-term limit. Justice Lifu stated that previous judicial decisions had already settled the matter and affirmed that there is no legal barrier stopping the former president from seeking office again in 2027.
The judge also described the suit as an abuse of court process and imposed heavy financial penalties on the plaintiff. Reports indicated that the court awarded costs amounting to about ₦21 million against the lawyer who filed the case.
Jonathan became Nigeria’s president in May 2010 after the death of Yar’Adua and completed the late president’s tenure before securing his own mandate in the 2011 general election. He later lost his re-election bid in 2015 to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The ruling has already sparked fresh political discussions across the country, especially as speculation continues to grow over Jonathan’s possible return to active politics ahead of the 2027 general election.
Although the former president has not officially declared his intention to run in 2027, the court’s decision has now removed a major legal obstacle that could have prevented such a move.
