A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit questioning former President Goodluck Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The suit, filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi in 2025, sought a declaration that Jonathan was constitutionally barred from running again, having already completed the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and then served a full term after the 2011 election. The plaintiff relied on Sections 1(1)–(3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, arguing that Jonathan had effectively been sworn in as president twice.
In its judgment delivered on May 26, the court held that the constitutional amendment introducing Section 137(3), which limits anyone who has taken the oath of office of president more than twice from contesting again, could not be applied retroactively to Jonathan. The judge agreed with arguments by Jonathan’s counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), and counsel for the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), that the provision could not invalidate Jonathan’s past tenure or his right to seek office in 2027.
Jonathan and the AGF had earlier urged the court to dismiss the suit for lacking merit, insisting that every qualified Nigerian, including the former president, retains the constitutional right to contest for the highest office. They described the case as an attempt to use litigation as a tool of political exclusion.
By dismissing the suit, the court effectively cleared a key legal hurdle to Jonathan’s potential 2027 presidential bid, though the former president has yet to formally declare his intention to run.
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