A Federal High Court in Abuja has rebuked the plaintiff and his lawyer in a suit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Peter Lifu, who presided over the matter on Friday, described the conduct of the plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi, and his counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, as unacceptable. The judge also awarded a N1 million fine against the plaintiff in favour of Jonathan.
The court criticised the repeated delays that have stalled proceedings in the case, noting that the suit was filed on October 6, 2025, but the plaintiff had failed to serve key defendants, including the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Justice Lifu said political matters require accelerated hearing because of the election timetable already released by INEC.
The judge granted the plaintiff two hours to serve all court processes on INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation. He also ordered the two defendants to file their responses before 11 a.m. on Monday, May 18, 2026.
The matter was adjourned until May 18 for definite hearing of the substantive suit and all pending applications.
The court observed that neither the plaintiff nor his lawyer appeared during previous proceedings despite fixing the hearing date themselves. Justice Lifu said the actions of the plaintiff showed a lack of seriousness and respect for the court.
Counsel to former President Jonathan, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the plaintiff had abandoned the matter after dragging a former president before the court.
Uche said the plaintiff and his lawyer treated the court process with disdain and should face consequences for frustrating the hearing.
He noted that Jonathan had already filed all necessary responses after learning about the case through media reports.
The lawyer to the Attorney-General of the Federation, J.D. Esho, also confirmed that her office had not been served with the originating court documents despite the suit being filed several months ago.
During the proceedings, the plaintiff’s lawyer later appeared in court and apologised for his lateness, blaming it on a vehicle breakdown.
However, Justice Lifu maintained that the delays caused by the plaintiff had wasted judicial time and disrupted the hearing schedule.
The judge ruled that punishment should lie where fault exists and imposed a N1 million cost against the plaintiff in favour of former President Jonathan.
The suit seeks to stop Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election on the grounds that he had already completed the constitutional limit allowed for a Nigerian president.
Jonathan has asked the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as lacking merit.
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