Hearing in the suit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election suffered a setback on Monday at the Federal High Court in Abuja after parties involved failed to appear in court.
The case, filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi before Justice Peter Lifu, could not proceed because counsel representing the plaintiff, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation were absent during the hearing.
When the matter was called, only Jonathan’s lawyer, Chief Chris Uche SAN, appeared in court. Uche informed the judge that the case had been scheduled for hearing at 2pm and argued that the plaintiff had failed to show seriousness in prosecuting the suit.
According to him, neither the plaintiff nor his counsel provided any explanation for their absence despite being aware of the hearing date. He urged the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution, adding that the plaintiff appeared to have lost interest after receiving Jonathan’s preliminary objection.
Uche also requested a cost of N5 million against the plaintiff, insisting that every default should attract consequences. However, Justice Lifu held that fairness required giving the other defendants another opportunity to appear before any decision could be taken.
The court registrar later confirmed that hearing notices had not been served on INEC and the Attorney General of the Federation. The judge subsequently ordered that fresh hearing notices be served on all absent parties and adjourned the matter until May 15 for definite hearing.
Jonathan had earlier challenged the suit, describing it as speculative, premature and an abuse of court process. He argued that there was no basis for the case because no nomination or election process had begun.
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