THE suit filed by lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, on the eligibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest next year’s presidential election could not proceed as scheduled on Friday, May 15, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, due to the absence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
INEC had earlier failed to appear during the hearing on May 11.
In the substantive suit, Jideobi is asking the court to restrain Jonathan from presenting himself as an aspirant to any political party ahead of the 2027 election.
He is also seeking an order stopping INEC from accepting, processing, or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
The plaintiff is urging the court to determine whether, under Sections 1(1), (2), (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, Jonathan is still eligible to contest for the office of President.
He argued that Jonathan had already served the constitutional limit of two terms, having completed the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010 and later serving a full four-year term after the 2011 election.
In an affidavit supporting the suit, Emmanuel Agida stated that Jonathan assumed office on May 6, 2010, following Yar’Adua’s death, and that concerns over reports of a possible 2027 ambition prompted the legal action.
The plaintiff maintained that allowing Jonathan to contest again would amount to a third presidential oath of office, which he argued would violate constitutional provisions.
He further stated that the suit was instituted in the public interest to uphold constitutional supremacy and preserve Nigeria’s democratic order.
Following the absence of parties, Jonathan’s Counsel, Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution, seeking a N5million cost against the plaintiff.
The Third Defendant, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, represented by J. D. Esho, informed the court that he had not been served with the originating summons and was therefore unable to enter appearance or file any processes.
Justice Peter Lifu rebuked Jideobi and his lawyer, Ndubuisi Ukpai, over a lack of diligence in pursuing the suit filed, describing their attitudes, which had continued to stall proceedings in the case, as “unacceptable” awarded a N1million fine against the plaintiff in favour of Jonathan.
He observed that Jideobi filed the suit on October 6, last year and expressed surprise that he had yet to serve INEC and the AGF, who are the 2nd and 3rd defendants, six months later.
Besides, Justice Lifu recalled that Uche told the court on May 8, when the case came up, that his team got the information about the suit in the media and decided to file and serve their processes.
The Judge also recalled that on May 11, neither Jideobi nor Ukpai were in court, despite fixing the hearing time at 2 pm at Ukpai’s instance on May 5, noting that though Uche asked for a N5million cost, the request was not granted in the interest of a fair hearing.
Faced with the development, Justice Lifu held that it was in the interest of justice and fair hearing to adjourn the matter.
Midway into the case, Ukpai entered the court and apologised for his lateness, pleading: “My lord, I am sorry. I am for the plaintiff. Our vehicle broke down on the way.”
After taking submissions from all the lawyers, Justice Lifu ruled: “I have carefully and painstakingly considered all the submissions and prayers of the learners’ Counsel in this matter.
“As this court has earlier ruled and ordered, this case has a character of politics.
“I have taken judicial notice of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) timetable. The duty of this court is to ensure that political cases are given accelerated hearings and disposed of expeditiously.
“In that wise, and as earlier stated, this court reiterates the provisions of the National Judicial Policy in case management.
“I hereby order as follows: The plaintiff, who filed this suit on October 6, 2025, and has not deemed it fit to serve, is hereby granted grace of two hours from now, that is, 10:30 am, to serve all the processes to the 2nd and 3rd defendants (INEC and AGF) unfailingly.
“The 2nd and 3rd defendants are hereby ordered to file and serve their responses, if any, before 11am on Monday, the 18th of May, 2026.
“By consent of Counsel, this suit is adjourned to May 18, by noon, for definite hearing of the originating summons and all pending applications.”
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