Court clears Jonathan for 2027 presidential race

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has cleared former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election after dismissing a suit seeking to stop him from returning to office.

Justice Peter Lifu, in a judgment delivered on Tuesday, described the suit filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi as frivolous and an abuse of court process.

The judge ruled that previous decisions by the Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had already settled the issue of Jonathan’s eligibility to contest for president again.

Justice Lifu held that he was bound by the decisions of the appellate court, which had earlier affirmed that the former president remained eligible to run.

The court also ruled that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the suit because he failed to show any personal injury or loss arising from Jonathan’s possible participation in the 2027 election.

The judge imposed a N20 million fine in favour of Jonathan and awarded an additional N1 million cost against the plaintiff in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The suit had argued that Jonathan was barred under Sections 1 and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution because he had taken the presidential oath twice after completing the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 before winning the 2011 election.

However, the court aligned with earlier judicial interpretations which established that Jonathan’s first assumption of office followed constitutional succession and not an election victory.

The ruling also reaffirmed previous positions that the 2018 constitutional amendment restricting a person who completes another president’s tenure from contesting more than once could not be applied retroactively to Jonathan.

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The judgment is expected to intensify political discussions ahead of the 2027 elections, especially following reports that a faction within the Peoples Democratic Party recently proposed Jonathan as a possible sole candidate.

Jonathan served as president between 2010 and 2015 after succeeding Yar’Adua before losing the 2015 presidential election to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

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