Former President Goodluck Jonathan may know his fate regarding the 2027 presidential election on May 26, as a Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed the date to deliver judgment in a suit challenging his eligibility to contest.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the matter on Monday after all parties adopted their final written addresses. The court is also expected to decide on an application seeking the judge’s withdrawal from the case over alleged bias.
The recusal application was filed by the plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi.
During the proceedings, counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the application, describing it as “frivolous” and “an abuse of court process”.
Uche argued that the allegations against the judge stemmed from a misrepresentation of earlier court proceedings. He asked the court to dismiss the application with substantial costs and proceed to judgment in the substantive suit.
Also opposing the application, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law at the Federal Ministry of Justice, who represented the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said the motion lacked merit.
She noted that although a judge could withdraw from a case where there were legitimate concerns about impartiality, the plaintiff failed to establish valid grounds for such action in the matter.
Lami-Shiru further described the motion as an abuse of court process and asked the court to award N2 million costs against the plaintiff.
In the substantive suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, Jideobi is seeking an order restraining Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
The plaintiff argued that Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional two-term limit, having completed the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later serving a full term following the 2011 presidential election.
He also asked the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a candidate in the 2027 election or any future presidential poll.
INEC, listed as the second defendant in the suit, was not represented during Monday’s proceedings.
Jonathan and the Attorney-General of the Federation urged the court to dismiss the suit and award substantial costs against the plaintiff.
Justice Lifu said all pending objections, including the recusal application, would be decided alongside the main judgment on May 26.
