A suit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election suffered another setback on Monday as the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered that hearing notices be served on the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the matter to May 15, 2026, after neither the plaintiff, lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, nor representatives of INEC and the AGF appeared in court for the second consecutive sitting. Only Jonathan’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, was present when the case was called.
Uche urged the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution, arguing that the plaintiff and his counsel had failed to appear without explanation. He told the court that the case had been fixed for 2 p.m. at the instance of the parties, yet the plaintiff’s lawyer, Ndubuisi Ukpai, was absent and had not communicated any reason.
“The plaintiff’s counsel was here on the last adjourned date. Today he is not here, and he didn’t send any letter. The plaintiff himself, who is also a lawyer, is not in court. My Lord, it means they have lost interest,” Uche submitted. He added that all processes had been exchanged and asked the court to either strike out or dismiss the suit with substantial costs.
Justice Lifu, however, declined the request, ruling that in the interest of fair hearing, INEC and the AGF must be given a final opportunity to respond. The court registrar confirmed that hearing notices had not been served on the two defendants, despite an earlier order.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, asks the court to declare Jonathan constitutionally ineligible to contest the presidency again. Jideobi contends that having taken the oath of office in May 2010 to complete the tenure of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and again after winning the 2011 election, Jonathan has exhausted the constitutional limit of two terms under Section 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
He is seeking an order restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as a presidential candidate, and a directive barring INEC from accepting or publishing his name for the 2027 election. The plaintiff also wants the AGF to enforce any order the court may make.
The case comes weeks after Jonathan told youth groups in Abuja that he would “consult widely” before deciding on the 2027 race. His comments have reignited debate over whether Section 137(3) bars him from a third run.
Jonathan’s lawyers maintain that the matter was settled in 2022 when the Federal High Court in Yenagoa dismissed a similar suit, ruling that the amended constitution could not apply retroactively to disqualify him. They argue that he has only been elected president once.
For now, the court has given the plaintiff and the defendants one last chance to appear. Justice Lifu warned that punitive costs could be imposed if there is another failure to attend.
