The Federal High Court in Abuja has declared that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election, dismissing a suit that sought to bar him from running on constitutional grounds.
In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Justice Peter Lifu held that there was no legal impediment preventing Jonathan from seeking a return to the presidency. The judge ruled that the issue of Jonathan’s eligibility had already been settled by the Court of Appeal. M
The suit was filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who argued that Jonathan would breach the constitutional two-term limit if elected president again in 2027. Jideobi contended that Jonathan had already been sworn in as president twice: first after the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010, and again after winning the 2011 election. He asked the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party for nomination and to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from accepting his name as a candidate.
Justice Lifu dismissed the suit as “frivolous and an abuse of court process”. He ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing, or _locus standi_, to institute the action because he failed to demonstrate any personal injury or loss arising from Jonathan’s potential candidacy. The judge also upheld a N20 million fine against Jideobi and awarded a one-million naira fine in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Jonathan first assumed office in May 2010 following Yar’Adua’s death and completed the remainder of the term. He won a full four-year term in the 2011 election and contested again in 2015, losing to President Muhammadu Buhari. His supporters argue that the constitutional amendment barring anyone sworn in twice from contesting again came into effect after he left office in 2015, and therefore does not apply retroactively….See More
