A lawyer, Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order to permanently bar former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting in the 2027 presidential election or any future election.
The plaintiff is also asking the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate under any political party.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) was also joined in the suit as a third defendant.
Naijaonpoint reports that in the originating summons marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jideobi is asking the court to issue a perpetual injunction stopping Jonathan from presenting himself for nomination under any political platform for the 2027 polls.
He is equally seeking a declaration that INEC lacks the constitutional power to accept or publish Jonathan’s name as a candidate for the office of president in the next or any subsequent election.
The suit also seeks an order directing the Attorney-General to ensure compliance with any order the court may issue.
The case, which is before the Federal High Court in Abuja, revolves around the interpretation of Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The plaintiff posed a single question for the court to determine: “Whether, in view of the combined provisions of Sections 1(1), (2), (3), and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, the first defendant (Goodluck Jonathan) is eligible under any circumstances to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
According to Jideobi, a “careful and holistic interpretation” of these sections disqualifies the former president from running again, given that he has already been sworn in twice.
The plaintiff is praying the court to declare that:
- Jonathan is ineligible to stand for or occupy the office of President again, having previously been sworn in and served as president.
- INEC has no constitutional authority to receive or publish Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate in any election.
- Jonathan should be restrained perpetually from seeking nomination from any political party for presidential elections in 2027 or beyond.
- INEC should be barred perpetually from accepting or publishing his name as a candidate.
‘Jonathan Served Two Terms Already’
In an affidavit deposed to by Emmanuel Agida, the plaintiff argued that Jonathan first became president on May 6, 2010, following the death of then-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on May 5, 2010, after previously serving as vice president.
Agida, who described himself as an “advocate of constitutionalism and the rule of law,” told the court he was compelled to act after seeing reports in national dailies suggesting that Jonathan might seek the presidency again in 2027.
He said allowing such an attempt would violate constitutional provisions limiting the number of times anyone can occupy the office of president.
Naijaonpoint reports that Jonathan, who served as Nigeria’s president between 2010 and 2015, has been at the centre of recurring legal debates over whether he can constitutionally seek re-election.
In 2022, there were similar legal challenges following reports linking him to a possible presidential bid under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Though he never officially declared, the controversy triggered fresh discussions around Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, introduced by the Fourth Alteration Act, which prohibits anyone who has been sworn in as president twice from contesting again.
Neither Jonathan nor his media aides had responded to the suit, while INEC and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation have also not issued public statements on the case.
The development has once again reignited political debate ahead of the 2027 general elections, with analysts predicting renewed legal and constitutional battles over eligibility.
“That the Plaintiff believes that the 1st defendant, having completed the unexpired term of late President Yar’Adua and subsequently served a full term after the 2011 election, has exhausted the constitutional limit of two tenures as President.
“That if the court does not intervene timeously, a political party may present the 1st defendant as its presidential candidate in the 2027 general election, thereby breaching the Constitution,” the suit reads further.
On his locus standi (legal right) to institute the action, the plaintiff maintained that part of his duties, as a lawyer, is to forestall a violation of the Constitution and to uphold the rule of law.
“There are chances that one of the political parties in Nigeria may favour the 1st defendant to stand as its presidential candidate in the forthcoming 2027 general elections to be conducted and overseen by the 2nd Defendant.
“If unchallenged, the 1st defendant may enter the 2027 presidential race on the platform of one of the political parties in Nigeria and may possibly emerge the winner of the said election.
“In the event the 1st defendant is returned as elected and sworn as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come in 2027, it will mark the 3rd time the 1st defendant will be taking oath of office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In the event the 1st defendant is returned as elected and sworn as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come in 2027, the plaintiff as a Nigerian citizen, would become one of the those under the governance control of the 1st defendant [who by virtue of his office would be saddled with the responsibility of executing the laws of the country].
“As a Nigerian lawyer trained in Nigerian constitutional law, the plaintiff has come across a provision in the Nigerian constitution stating that a person who was sworn-in as President to complete the term for which another person was elected as President shall not be elected to such office for more than a single term.
“The plaintiff knows that the 1st defendant was indeed, on the 6th May, 2010, sworn in as President to complete the term for which (former) President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was elected as President as a consequence of the demise of the former President on the 5th day of May, 2010.
“The 1st defendant after being sworn in on 6th May, 2010 to complete the term of late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was subsequently elected into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and sworn in on the 27th May, 2011.
“I know that if the 1st defendant eventually wins the forthcoming 2027 general election as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (which is for a term of 4 years spanning 2027 to 2031), he will have exceeded 8 years being the cumulative maximum years a Nigerian President is to stay in office.
“As a Nigerian Lawyer trained in Nigerian constitutional law, the plaintiff knows of a provision in the Nigerian constitution stating that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of the same Constitution.
“The plaintiff being a lawyer committed to the reign of constitutionalism, an unrepentant apostle of the rule of law and a known crusader for democratic governance, especially in Nigeria, does not wish to be governed by any person or group of persons who may have taken control of the Government of Nigeria in a manner not contemplated by the Nigerian constitution.
“The plaintiff has instituted this suit in the public interest, in the defence of the rule of law and accentuation of the supremacy of the Constitution and to preserve the integrity of the Nigerian Constitutional order.
“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 further read.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
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