A lawyer, Mr. Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to bar former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election or any subsequent polls.
Gatekeepers News reports that in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jideobi is asking the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate in 2027.
Jonathan is listed as the first defendant, while INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) are the second and third defendants, respectively.
The plaintiff is urging the court to determine “whether, in view of the combined provisions of Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the first defendant is eligible under any circumstances to contest for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Based on that question, Jideobi is seeking a declaration that Jonathan is constitutionally ineligible to contest or occupy the office of President again, and that INEC has no legal authority to accept or publish his name as a candidate in any future presidential election, including the one scheduled for 2027.
He also seeks “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the first defendant from presenting himself to any political party in Nigeria for nomination as its presidential candidate in the 2027 general election and any other election thereafter.”
Furthermore, the plaintiff is asking the court for “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the second defendant from accepting or publishing the first defendant’s name as a candidate for election into the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2027 and subsequent elections.”
Jideobi also prayed for “an order directing the third defendant to ensure full compliance with the decisions and orders of this Honourable Court.”
In an affidavit supporting the suit, one Emmanuel Agida stated that the action was filed in the interest of constitutionalism and the rule of law. He argued that allowing Jonathan to contest again would violate the constitutional limit of a maximum of two terms — or eight years — in office.
“If permitted to contest and possibly serve from 2027 to 2031, the first defendant would have exceeded the cumulative eight-year tenure allowed under the 1999 Constitution,” Agida stated.
The matter is expected to be assigned to a judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, and scheduled for hearing in the coming weeks.
