BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
The suit filed by Johnmary Jideobi, a lawyer, before a Federal High Court, Abuja seeking to restrain former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election suffered another setback on Friday.
The suit, before Justice Peter Lifu, could not be heard due to the absence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which was again not represented in court.
INEC had previously failed to appear during the earlier hearing on May 11.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, the third defendant in the case, informed the court that he had not been served with the originating summons and was therefore unable to enter appearance or file any processes.
Faced with the development, Justice Lifu held that it was in the interest of justice and fair hearing to adjourn the matter.
The court subsequently fixed May 18 for definite hearing and directed the plaintiff to ensure proper service of all originating processes and hearing notices on the relevant parties.
On May 11, the court had earlier adjourned the case to May 15 for definite hearing, but proceedings were stalled after the plaintiff and his counsel were absent without any explanation.
At the time, INEC and the AGF were also not represented in court.
Following the absence of parties, counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche, SAN, had urged the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution, seeking a N5 million cost against the plaintiff.
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.
