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Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has challenged a suit filed by a Nigerian lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, seeking to restrain him from contesting in the 2027 presidential election.
The former president, through his legal counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, informed the court that a letter of conditional appearance, a notice of preliminary objection, a counter-affidavit, and a written address had been filed on May 5, 2026, praying the court to dismiss the case.
Uche said they received information about the case through the media, hence the need to file their processes urgently, given the importance of the matter, which boiled down to the former president’s eligibility to contest in the next election.
He added that it was unfortunate that such a suit was filed by a lawyer who should have known that the same matter had been decided by the Federal High Court up to the Court of Appeal.
Credit: Arise News
The plaintiff’s counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, informed the court that the matter was for mention, but he was just being served by Jonathan’s proceedings.
Justice Lifu adjourned the matter until May 11, 2026, at 2 pm for the hearing of the ex-president’s objection and the substantive suit.
He also ordered that hearing notices be issued and served on INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the 2nd and 3rd defendants in the matter.
Jideobi had filed the case, praying the court to bar Jonathan from contesting in the 2027 election.
Citing constitutional grounds, he urged the court to issue an order of perpetual injunction, restraining Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party in the country for the purpose of contesting in the poll.
He also urged the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting from any political party, Jonathan’s name or publishing Jonathan’s name as a duly nominated candidate for the election.
