SAN dismisses suit challenging Jonathan’s eligibility for 2027 election

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oba Maduabuchi, has described the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, challenging former President Goodluck Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election as an abuse of court process.

Maduabuchi explained that the issue of Jonathan’s qualification was previously settled by a competent court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and no appeal has been filed against that judgment. He noted that any attempt to relitigate the matter constitutes an abuse of court procedure.

The senior lawyer further stated that the 2018 constitutional amendment under Section 137(3), which limits a person to one additional term if they have previously completed another’s tenure, did not exist when Jonathan assumed office in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

He added that the law cannot be applied retroactively and that Jonathan is legally entitled to seek two full terms under the constitutional provisions in effect at the time.

Maduabuchi emphasized that the valid legal position remains the judgment of the Yenagoa court, and any effort to challenge Jonathan’s eligibility in a separate court amounts to unnecessary interference in settled legal matters.