A Federal High Court in Abuja has fined a plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi, ₦1 million over delays in a lawsuit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
Justice Peter Lifu, while ruling on Friday, criticised both the plaintiff and his lawyer, Ndubuisi Ukpai, for what he described as a lack of diligence and repeated actions that stalled proceedings in the matter.
The judge said the conduct of the plaintiff and his counsel was “unacceptable,” noting that the suit was filed on October 6, 2025, yet the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), listed as the second and third defendants, had still not been served with court processes six months later.
Justice Lifu stressed that political cases must be handled swiftly in line with judicial policy and INEC’s election timetable.
“The duty of this court is to ensure that political cases are given accelerated hearing and disposed of expeditiously,” the judge said.
He subsequently gave the plaintiff two hours to serve the remaining defendants and ordered INEC and the AGF to file their responses before 11am on May 18, 2026.
The court also adjourned the case until May 18 for definite hearing of the substantive suit and all pending applications.
Justice Lifu further awarded ₦1 million in costs against Jideobi in favour of Jonathan after concluding that the hearing had been frustrated by the plaintiff’s tardiness.
According to the judge, the plaintiff and his lawyer failed to appear in court on May 11 despite personally requesting the hearing date and time.
He also recalled that Jonathan’s legal team, led by Chief Chris Uche (SAN), had informed the court that they only became aware of the suit through media reports before filing their response and preliminary objection.
When the matter was called on Friday, neither Jideobi nor his lawyer was initially present in court, prompting Jonathan’s counsel to ask for the case to be dismissed with substantial costs.
Uche accused the plaintiff and his lawyer of showing “absolute disdain and disrespect” for the court and argued that the former president had been unnecessarily dragged into litigation.
“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 said.
Counsel to the AGF, J.D. Esho, also confirmed that her office had not been served with the originating summons, while the court registrar stated that INEC had only received hearing notices and not the main suit documents.
Ukpai later arrived in court and apologised for his lateness, blaming it on a vehicle breakdown on the way to court.
After hearing submissions from all parties, Justice Lifu adjourned proceedings until May 18 at 12 noon.
