A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to stop former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, ruling that the case lacked merit.
Gatekeepers News reports that the suit was filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who argued that Jonathan was constitutionally barred from seeking another term because he first took the presidential oath in 2010 after the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later won the 2011 presidential election. The plaintiff claimed this meant Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional limit.
Jonathan’s legal team, led by senior lawyer Chris Uche, asked the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that the issue had already been settled by previous court rulings.
They maintained that Jonathan only won one presidential election and that his emergence in 2010 was through constitutional succession, not by election.
The court agreed with Jonathan’s position and upheld earlier judicial decisions which stated that his assumption of office in 2010 could not be counted as an elected presidential term.
Previous rulings in 2013, 2015 and 2022 had also affirmed his eligibility to contest future elections.
