Dr Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Lateef Fagbemi yesterday asked the Federal High Court Abuja to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Johnmary Jideobi, a lawyer, seeking to stop Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential poll.
This comes as Justice Peter Lifu fixed May 26 for a composite judgment, which will include a ruling on the application by Jideobi asking him to recuse himself. In the originating summons, Jideobi requested, among others, that the court determine whether Jonathan is eligible, “under any circumstances whatsoever, to contest for the office of the President”.
He argued that Jonathan had exhausted the constitutional limit allowed for a President, having completed the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s tenure before serving another full term after the 2011 election. Jideobi yesterday also brought an application, asking Justice Lifu to recuse himself from the matter over alleged bias. But Jonathan’s lawyer Chris Uche (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the suit with a cost of N50 million.
He cited two previous judgements, such as the Federal High Court between Andy Solomon and Jonathan; and that of the Court of Appeal between Cyracus Njoku and Jonathan, which he said were dismissed.
Uche further submitted that the amendment to Section 137(3) of the Constitution, which bars officials who had sworn to an oath previously more than twice from seeking the same office, could not be applied retroactively against Jonathan, who contested in 2015.
He claimed that Jideobi was trying to weaponise litigation as a means of political exclusion when the Constitution grants every qualified citizen the right to seek the highest office in the land.
“He has no locus standi to bring this action and no cause of action has crystallised,” he said. Uche added that for Jideobi to have locus, he must demonstrate how it affects him directly, and show he is a registered voter to show he is interested in who governs him.
Also, the Ministry of Justice Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law Maimuna Lami-Shiru asked the court to dismiss Jideobi’s claim in its entirety. Lami-Shiru, who urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs, sought N2 million costs in favour of the ministry.
In the main suit filed by the plaintiff, Jonathan and Fagbemi also asked the court to dismiss the same with substantial costs. After taking arguments from lawyers for the plaintiff and the defendants, Justice Life fixed May 26 for judgment.
