Former President Goodluck Jonathan has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to bar him from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Jonathan’s lawyer, Chris Uche, informed Justice Peter Lifu that the former president had already filed a preliminary objection, counter affidavit, and written address challenging the suit.
According to Uche, the legal team became aware of the case through media reports and moved quickly to respond because of the significance of the matter, which concerns Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the next presidential election.
The suit was filed by Abuja-based lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who is asking the court to permanently stop Jonathan from seeking nomination from any political party for the 2027 election.
Jideobi also urged the court to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from accepting or publishing Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.
Justice Lifu adjourned the matter to May 11 for hearing of the preliminary objection and the substantive suit, while also directing that hearing notices be served on Independent National Electoral Commission and the Attorney-General of the Federation
