Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oba Maduabuchi, has slammed the recent suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to disqualify former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, calling it an “abuse of court process.”

 

Speaking during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Maduabuchi stated that the question of Jonathan’s eligibility had already been decided by a competent court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and since no appeal has been filed against that judgment, it remains valid and binding.

 

“That suit in the Federal High Court, Abuja, is an abuse of court process,” Maduabuchi said.

 

“The issue of Jonathan’s qualification has already been settled. Until that judgment is set aside by an appellate court, it remains the law. Anyone trying to relitigate the matter is simply abusing the process of the court and is a busybody.”

Addressing the legal foundation of the matter, the SAN emphasized that the 2018 constitutional amendment—specifically Section 137(3), which bars anyone who has completed another president’s term from being elected more than once—does not apply to Jonathan.

 

Jonathan became president in 2010, following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and was elected in his own right in 2011. The amendment, Maduabuchi stressed, was not in place at the time, and cannot be applied retroactively.

 

“What controls a given situation is the law in force at the time the act was done,” he explained.

“The 2018 amendment came long after Jonathan had served his first term and sought re-election. You cannot disqualify him using a law that didn’t exist when he was in office.”

Maduabuchi reiterated that legal certainty is a fundamental pillar of justice, and reopening settled cases undermines the rule of law.

 

“Until a higher court sets aside the decision from Bayelsa, no other court of the same level can revisit it. Doing so is not only a legal misstep but a waste of judicial resources,” he concluded.

 

The fresh suit questioning Jonathan’s eligibility comes amid renewed political speculations ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, legal experts like Maduabuchi insist that unless the existing court judgment is reversed, the former president remains qualified to run.