Former President Goodluck Jonathan has formally asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss the lawsuit seeking to stop him from participating in the 2027 presidential election.

According to reports, that Jonathan, through his lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), challenged the suit on Friday during proceedings before Justice Peter Lifu.

The case was filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who is asking the court to restrain the former president from presenting himself as a presidential aspirant under any political party ahead of the 2027 general election.

Jonathan Files Preliminary Objection

At the resumed hearing, Jonathan’s counsel informed the court that the former president had already filed several legal processes in response to the suit.

According to Uche, the defence submitted a letter of conditional appearance, a notice of preliminary objection, a counter-affidavit, and a written address on May 5.

He urged the court to dismiss the case entirely.

The senior lawyer explained that Jonathan’s legal team only became aware of the lawsuit through media reports, forcing them to respond quickly due to the constitutional significance of the matter.

He noted that the suit directly concerns the former president’s eligibility to contest the next presidential election.

“Matter Has Already Been Decided” — Jonathan’s Counsel

Jonathan’s lawyer also argued that the issue being raised by the plaintiff was not new, insisting that courts had previously ruled on similar constitutional questions.

According to him, both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had already addressed the matter in earlier proceedings.

Uche faulted the decision to reopen the issue through fresh litigation, especially by a legal practitioner who, according to him, should have known the matter had already been settled judicially.

Plaintiff Requests Time To Respond

Counsel to the plaintiff, Ndubuisi Ukpai, told the court that the matter was initially scheduled for mention but confirmed that he had only just been served with Jonathan’s legal documents.

He therefore requested time to study and respond to the filings.

Following the submissions from both parties, Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the matter until May 11 at 2 pm for the hearing of Jonathan’s preliminary objection as well as the substantive suit.

The court also directed that hearing notices be issued and served on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation, who are listed as second and third defendants respectively.

Why The Suit Was Filed

The plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi, is seeking a perpetual injunction preventing Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election on constitutional grounds.

He is asking the court to stop the former president from seeking nomination under any political party and also restrain INEC from accepting or publishing his name as a valid presidential candidate.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/2025, was filed on October 6, 2025.

At the heart of the legal argument is the long-standing constitutional debate surrounding Jonathan’s tenure after completing the term of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua before winning the 2011 presidential election.

As political conversations around 2027 continue to intensify, the outcome of the case could become one of the most closely watched legal and constitutional battles ahead of the next election cycle.