Appeal Court Set To Decide Jonathan’s Eligibility Case

According to judicial documents obtained by media sources, the legal challenge seeking to prevent former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election has advanced to the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

The appeal was filed by Abuja-based legal practitioner, Jideobi Johnmary, who is asking the appellate court to overturn a Federal High Court judgment that affirmed Jonathan’s eligibility to seek another term in office. Johnmary urged the court to nullify the judgment delivered on May 26 by Justice Peter Lifu, arguing that the proceedings leading to the decision violated his constitutional right to a fair hearing.

In the notice of appeal, the appellant raised three grounds challenging the judgment. He contended that Justice Lifu erred by hearing both his application seeking the judge’s recusal and the substantive suit on the same day before subsequently issuing a composite ruling that addressed both matters. According to him, the motion for recusal, which questioned the judge’s impartiality, ought to have been determined independently before any consideration of the substantive issues in the case.

Johnmary maintained that the trial judge’s decision to merge the recusal application with the main suit undermined the purpose of the application and deprived him of the impartial tribunal guaranteed under the Constitution. He argued that once the recusal motion was filed, the court was obligated to first rule on that issue before proceeding with any substantive hearing.

In a separate ground of appeal, he further argued that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to determine the substantive suit while a challenge to the judge’s competence and impartiality remained unresolved. He insisted that the procedure adopted rendered the proceedings invalid from the outset.

The appellant also challenged the ₦20 million cost awarded against him in favour of Jonathan, describing it as excessive, punitive and inconsistent with the compensatory nature of legal costs. He argued that the award effectively punished him for exercising his constitutional right to seek judicial redress and present legal arguments before the court.

As part of the reliefs sought, Johnmary is requesting that the Court of Appeal remit the case to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to a different judge and a fresh hearing. Former President Jonathan, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Attorney-General of the Federation have been listed as respondents in the appeal.

The appellate court is yet to fix a date for hearing the matter.

The dispute originated from a suit filed by Johnmary at the Federal High Court, where he questioned Jonathan’s eligibility to contest another presidential election on the grounds that he had already taken the oath of office as President on two occasions. He sought judicial interpretation of relevant constitutional provisions and requested orders restraining Jonathan from contesting future presidential elections, as well as preventing INEC from accepting or publishing his name as a candidate.

However, Justice Lifu ruled that there was no legal obstacle preventing Jonathan from seeking a return to the presidency. The court held that previous judgments of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had already settled the issue of Jonathan’s eligibility. The suit was subsequently dismissed as frivolous and an abuse of court process, while the court also held that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing required to pursue the action.

In addition to dismissing the suit, the court awarded ₦20 million in costs to Jonathan and ₦1 million to the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Although Jonathan has not publicly declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, reports indicate that a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Kabiru Turaki, has offered him a waiver and endorsed him as its sole presidential candidate.