Breaking: Court Rebukes Plaintiff, Lawyer in Suit Against Jonathan, Gives Reason
- The federal high court in Abuja has rebuked the plaintiff and his lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi and Ndubuisi Ukpai, in a suit against former President Goodluck Jonathan
- Justice Peter Lifu of the court said the plaintiff and his lawyer lack due diligence in the suit they filed against the former president
- The judge described the action of the plaintiff and his lawyer as unacceptable and awarded a N1 million fine against them
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has rebuked a plaintiff and his lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi and Ndubuisi Ukpai, over their lack of diligence in the suit they had filed to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from fielding himself in the 2027 presidential elections.
The judge described the attitudes of the plaintiff and his lawyers as "unacceptable" as they had continued to stall the hearing of the case. He then awarded a N1 million fine against the plaintiff in favour of the former president.
Source: Twitter
According to the justice, Jideobi had filed the case on October 6, 2025, but said he was surprised that the plaintiff had yet to serve the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), who were the second and third defendants in the suit that was filed over six months ago.
Besides, the court also observed that the counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche, told the court on May 8, when the case was called up, that they were informed about the case through social media and decided to file and serve their processes.
At the same time, the judge observed that on May 11, neither the lawyer nor the plaintiff was in the court despite the fact that the fixed time was 2 pm at the instance of the plaintiff's lawyer on May 5.
Jonathan 2027: Nigerians react as court issues fines
However, Nigerians have started reacting to the report of the court decision on the matter. Below are some of their comments:
Sule urged the former president not to contest:
"If Jonathan joined the race, he would just destroy his PDP family. He can't affect the APC vote. The earlier you know, this is the better for all of you."
Source: Twitter
Olatunji criticised the opposition leaders:
"So, it's Tinubu that went to court again? I hope you're fulfilling your responsibilities at home, both on and off bed. Don't tell your family, it's Tinubu o!"
Fola faulted the lawyer:
"We didn't bother to follow the case because we knew it would definitely be thrown out of court. Some Lawyers just can't read and understand simple English. The Law was clear on the issue. No president could be sworn in more than twice."
Emmy said Nigerians are waiting for the declaration of Jonathan:
"Forget story, Ogbon Sodiq. No dey pass corner-corner. We are waiting for the presidential declaration of GEJ."
You can read more comments on the reports on X here:
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Shehu Sani explains Jonathan's mistakes
Legit.ng earlier reported that former President Goodluck Jonathan has been faulted for being the architect of his own defeat in the 2015 presidential election.
Shehu Sani, a former Kaduna Central senator in the Eighth Senate, made the claim while speaking in an interview recently.
According to Senator Sani, there are three things that former President Jonathan did that President Bola Tinubu or any other president cannot do, and he mentioned them.
Source: Legit.ng
