A Federal High Court in Abuja has fined a plaintiff ₦1 million for delaying proceedings in a suit seeking to prevent former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Peter Lifu imposed the sanction on Friday against Johnmary Jideobi, faulting both the plaintiff and his lawyer, Ndubuisi Ukpai, for what the court described as repeated failure to diligently prosecute the case.
The judge ruled that the conduct of the plaintiff and his counsel had frustrated proceedings in a matter that required urgent attention because of its political nature. The ₦1 million cost was awarded in favour of Jonathan.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Lifu stressed that election-related cases must be handled with speed in line with judicial policy and the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“I have carefully and painstakingly considered all the submissions and prayers of the learned counsel in this matter,” the judge said.
“As this court has earlier ruled and ordered, this case has a character of politics. I have taken judicial notice of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable.”
The court observed that although the suit was filed on October 6, 2025, the plaintiff had still not served the originating summons on INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
Justice Lifu consequently ordered the plaintiff to serve all court processes on both parties within two hours, while directing the second and third defendants to file their responses before 11am on May 18, 2026.
The matter was adjourned until May 18 for hearing of the substantive suit and all pending applications.
The judge also recalled that Jonathan’s lawyer, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), had previously informed the court that the former president first learned about the suit through media reports before eventually being served.
Proceedings took another dramatic turn when neither the plaintiff nor his lawyer appeared in court at the commencement of Friday’s hearing, despite earlier requesting that the matter be fixed for hearing at 2pm on May 11.
Jonathan’s counsel strongly criticised the plaintiff’s conduct, accusing him of disrespecting the court and attempting to frustrate proceedings.
“The plaintiff thinks he can hold the court and other parties to ransom and stay back in the comfort of his house and drag all of us to court,” Uche told the court.
“There must be a consequence for every action. They think the courts are toothless bulldogs and the dignity of the court must be protected.”
Counsel representing the AGF, J.D. Esho, also informed the court that her office had not been served with the originating processes, while the court registrar confirmed that INEC had only received a hearing notice and not the substantive summons.
Ukpai later arrived during the proceedings and apologised for his lateness, explaining that his vehicle broke down on the way to court.
The suit filed by Jideobi seeks an order stopping Jonathan from presenting himself as a presidential candidate in 2027 and restraining INEC from accepting or publishing his candidacy.
The plaintiff is asking the court to interpret provisions of Sections 1 and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution to determine whether Jonathan remains eligible to seek the presidency again.
