The former southeast spokesman of President Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has declared that there is no court ruling barring former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential race.

He argued that the certified true copy of the court judgment, declared Jonathan eligible to contest the presidency in Nigeria again and had set aside any issue of constitutional term limits.

He warned President Tinubu not to be deceived into embarking on a wild goose legal chase over Jonathan’s qualification to contest future elections.

Onoh warned President Tinubu not to be carried away by the sycophancy of those around him, warning that just as his wife had cried out about previous betrayals, many people who appear to be supporters may betray him in the 2027 election.

Naijaonpoint reports the statement comes on the heels of a warning from the presidency contained in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga on Monday against Jonathan’s rumoured interest in the 2027 election and individuals within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who are reportedly encouraging him to contest the 2027 presidency on the party’s platform.

Onoh, who spoke with newsmen in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State, on Tuesday, however, disagreed with the submission by the Presidency on Jonathan’s eligibility. He further submitted that only Nigerians can decide who would be their leader.

He urged the Tinubu administration to focus on issues of national importance and refrain from interfering in the electoral rights of any opponent.

“Therefore, President Tinubu should not be deceived by anyone telling him otherwise. This was exactly how Jonathan’s inner cabal during the build up to 2015 elections deceived him into believing that he was invisible, that Nigerians loved him, to the extent he was too carried away that he felt invisible and never saw Tinubu coming.

“Tinubu was the invisible magician that cast the spell that led to Jonathan’s loss at the polls. The President should not fall in the same trap by the voices that surround him now. The one major sincere voice he should listen to is his wife, many will betray him in the coming months,” Onoh said.

Onoh further stated that a binding and unappealed Judgment in May 2022, of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State (Suit No. FHC/YNG/CS/86/2022), delivered a definitive ruling in a case brought by APC members, Andy Solomon and Ibidiye Abraham against Jonathan, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He quoted Justice Isa H. Dashen to have ruled that Goodluck Jonathan is constitutionally eligible to contest the presidency of Nigeria again.

“The court reasoned as that Jonathan’s assumption of office on May 6, 2010, following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, was not an election under Section 137(1)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), but a succession to complete Yar’Adua’s unexpired term, invoking the doctrine of necessity and not counting toward the two-term limit for elected mandates,” he argued.

Onoh said that Jonathan was elected only once, in the 2011 presidential election, served a full four-year term until 2015; which his 2015 bid was a legitimate reelection attempt even though he defeated at the polls, but did not exhaust his constitutional allowance.

“The 2018 constitutional amendment (via the Fourth Alteration Act), which added Section 137(3) to bar anyone sworn in twice from further contests, does not apply retroactively to Jonathan. The amendment postdated his tenures (2010–2015). It cannot retroactively disqualify rights accrued under the pre-amendment framework.”

Onoh stated that ex-post facto laws are impermissible in Nigeria’s constitutional democracy, a principle reinforced by precedents such as the Court of Appeal’s 2015 ruling in Cyriacus Njoku v. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (2015) LPELR-24496(CA), which similarly excluded his 2010 oath from term-counting calculations.

Onoh asserted that the 2022 judgment was never appealed by the plaintiffs or any party, despite the 90-days window under the Constitution and relevant electoral laws. Over three years later (as of September 2025), the ruling stands as final and binding under the doctrine of res judicata—barring relitigation of the same issues between the same parties.

“Hence I urge Mr. President not to listen to anyone who comes to spin him with legal possibilities of Jonathan’s eligibility because Nigerian jurisprudence, including Supreme Court decisions like Marwa v. Nyako (2012) 6 NWLR (Pt. 1296) 200, upholds such precedents to ensure legal certainty and prevent endless challenges to settled rights.

With due respect to Mr. Onanuga, his invocation of future court scrutiny, while respectful of judicial authority, ignores this finality due to statute of limitations and finality hence any hypothetical challenger today would face dismissal for delay, as the core facts (Jonathan’s oaths and elections) are historical and were adjudicated in 2022,” he stated.

Onoh said that the Supreme Court has consistently ruled against “stale” claims that could have been appealed timely (e.g. A.G. Federation v. A.G. Abia State (2001) 11 NWLR (Pt. 725) 689).

He further cited that from precedent in 2013, an earlier Federal High Court ruling (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/231/2013, Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi) cleared Jonathan to run in 2015 which was also unappealed, forming the bedrock for the 2022 decision.

“This chain of unassailed judgments creates an impregnable legal shield. So, in my opinion, eligibility is a settled constitutional right, not open to political conjecture. I’m aware many critics in the past have framed opposition as a “risk” for parties fielding him, will face a disqualification, acknowledging the unresolved tension with the 2018 amendment, but the 2022 ruling resolves it in Jonathan’s favor.

“In essence, the matter is not pending a “jury” (or judiciary) trial; it was conclusively decided. Suggesting otherwise risks undermining judicial authority by implying courts must revisit final verdicts at political whim, eroding the stability essential to Nigeria’s electoral process.

“I owe Mr. President the truth before he’s betrayed again by politicians waving successful statistics around him without any knowledge of how Nigerians truly perceive your administration which isn’t encouraging at the moment but it’s within your powers to change the narratives to your favour.

“To honor the rule of law if Jonathan enters the 2027 race, I advise President Tinubu to engage on visions for economic revival, security, and unity, this elevates the conversation, respecting Jonathan’s cleared path while focusing on voters’ priorities. Nigeria’s democracy thrives when legal finality frees space for ideas, not recycled litigation,” Onoh said.