A legal dispute over the eligibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election has moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

This followed a challenge to a recent Federal High Court judgment that cleared him to seek a return to office.

An Abuja-based lawyer, Jideobi Johnmary, has filed a notice of appeal, asking the appellate court to overturn the May 26 judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, which held that there was no constitutional barrier to Jonathan contesting another presidential election.

In the appeal, Johnmary raised three grounds, arguing that the lower court’s proceedings were fundamentally flawed and should be declared null and void.

A major plank of the appeal is the allegation that Justice Lifu breached the appellant’s constitutional right to a fair hearing by hearing a motion seeking his recusal alongside the substantive suit and subsequently delivering a combined ruling and judgment.

Johnmary filed a motion on May 11 requesting that the judge withdraw from the case and return the file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.

However, when the matter came up on May 18, the judge proceeded to hear both the recusal application and the substantive suit before reserving judgment.

The appellant contends that a motion for recusal directly questions a judge’s impartiality and competence to hear a matter and should therefore be determined before any substantive proceedings.

Johnmary argued that the procedure adopted by the trial court denied him access to an impartial tribunal.

The lawyer is therefore asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and return the case to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge for a fresh hearing.

MEANWHILE, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has criticised reports linking former President Goodluck Jonathan to an alleged presidential ticket arrangement being promoted by the Tanimu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing the move as “bizarre comedy taken too far.”

In a post published on his official X handle yesterday, the minister faulted attempts to associate Jonathan with a political group he said was not recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), expressed concern over what he described as efforts by individuals who once occupied influential positions in the country to drag the former president and statesman into “a charade.”

Keyamo further urged Jonathan to publicly distance himself from the development in order to safeguard his international reputation. (Guardian)

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