A former president, the attorney general, and the minister of justice have all asked a federal high court in Abuja to reject a lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Abuja who wanted to prevent Goodluck Jonathan from running for president in 2027.
Reason being, on Monday, Justice Peter Lifu set May 26 for composite judgement, which would encompass a decision on plaintiff Johnmary Jideobi’s motion to desist, as requested.
In the original summons, Jideobi asked the court to decide “whether the 1st defendant is eligible, under any circumstances whatsoever, to contest for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” based on the 1999 Constitution’s sections 1(1), (2) and (3) and 137(3).
After finishing the term of the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and then serving another full term following the 2011 election, Jideobi said that Jonathan had used up all the presidential term limits imposed by the constitution.
As part of the lawsuit, Emmanuel Agida, who testified for the Jideobi, stated that Jonathan took the oath of office twice: once after Yar’Adua’s death on May 6, 2010, and again after his election on May 29, 2011.
On Monday, Jideobi filed an application requesting that the judge disqualify himself from the case due to biased reasons. This is because the court reduced the 14-day deadline for Jonathan to respond to his counter-affidavit and preliminary objection.
In his counter-affidavit and preliminary objection, Jonathan’s lawyer Chris Uche, SAN, had previously requested the court to dismiss the N50 million lawsuit.
He included two earlier rulings that he claimed were overturned: one from the Federal High Court involving Andy Solomon and Jonathan, and another from the Court of Appeal involving Cyracus Njoku and Jonathan.
Uche further submitted that the amendment to the Section 137(3) of the Constitution, which bars officials who had sworn to an oath previously more than twice, from seeking the same office, cannot be applied retroactively against Jonathan, who contested in 2015.
The right to run for the highest office in Nigeria is guaranteed to every qualified citizen by the constitution, he said, and Jideobi was attempting to use litigation as a weapon to exclude certain political groups.
“No cause of action has crystallised, and he lacks locus standi to bring this action,” he stated.
He went on to say that Jideobi needs to prove he is interested in who rules him by showing he is a registered voter and that it directly impacts him if he wants locus.
Similarly, the Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law of the Ministry of Justice, Dr Maimuna Lamin Shiru, asked the court to dismiss Jideobi’s claim in its entirety.
In objecting, Ukpai submitted that the issue of being a registered voter is never a condition for bringing the suit before the court, while urging the court to dismiss objections and the counter-affidavit of Jonathan and the Ministry of Justice.