Court Defers Hearing on Goodluck Jonathan’s 2027 Eligibility to Monday
The Federal High Court in Abuja has deferred the hearing of a suit challenging former President Goodluck Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election until Monday, May 18, 2026, following the absence of the Independent National Electoral Commission in court.
Justice Peter Lifu expressed strong displeasure over the plaintiff’s lack of diligent prosecution and subsequently awarded a N1 million fine against the petitioner, Johnmary Jideobi, in favor of the former president.
The presiding judge ordered the plaintiff to serve all originating processes on both INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation within a strict two-hour window, while mandating the defendants to file their responses by Monday morning.
The suit seeks a perpetual injunction to restrain Jonathan from seeking nomination for the presidency, with the plaintiff arguing that another term would cause the former leader to exceed the constitutional eight-year limit for the office.
This development occurs amidst a pending petition from the plaintiff to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, requesting that the case be reassigned to a different judge due to allegations of bias and procedural unfairness.
