Nigeria’s former President, Goodluck Jonathan, formally entered his opposition on Friday against a legal bid aimed at disqualifying him from the 2027 presidential election.
Appearing before Justice Peter Lifu at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Jonathan’s lead counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), confirmed that the former president has filed a comprehensive legal defense, including a preliminary objection and a counter-affidavit.
Uche urged the court to strike out the case, asserting that the legal team acted proactively after learning of the litigation through media reports.
The defense maintains that the question of Jonathan’s eligibility has already been firmly resolved by superior courts, including the Court of Appeal.
Counsel for the former president argued that the current suit is an attempt to relitigate a settled matter. However, the plaintiff’s counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, informed the court that he had only just received the defense documents and requested additional time to study the processes and file a formal reply to the objections raised by Jonathan’s team.
The suit, initiated by legal practitioner, Johnmary Jideobi, on October 6, 2025, seeks a permanent injunction to prevent Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate.
Jideobi is also seeking to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognizing or publishing Jonathan’s name for the 2027 contest.
The plaintiff contends that because Jonathan was sworn in twice—first following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua in 2010 and again after winning the 2011 election—he has exhausted the constitutional limit for the office.
Central to the dispute is the interpretation of Sections 1 and 137(3) of the Nigerian Constitution regarding presidential tenure limits.
An affidavit filed in support of the suit by Emmanuel Agida claims that allowing the former president to run again would constitute a “constitutional violation.” The plaintiff argues that as a defender of the rule of law, he must intervene to prevent a potential breach of the constitution should a political party decide to field Jonathan as its candidate in the upcoming general elections.
Presiding Judge, Peter Lifu, has adjourned the proceedings until May 11, 2026, for a consolidated hearing on both the preliminary objection and the substantive suit.
In a bid to ensure all parties are represented, the judge also ordered that fresh hearing notices be served on INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, both of whom are co-defendants in the matter but were absent during Friday’s session.
