By Eteteonline
Jonathan’s opponents go to court
Given that he has been sworn in twice, there are also questions over his eligibility to run in the presidential election. This resulted from the National Assembly’s 2018 change to the 1999 constitution, which forbids a person from being sworn in twice as Nigeria’s president. A similar clause was added to Section 182 for governors, and presently Section 137(3) states: “A person, who was sworn in to complete the term for which another person was elected as President, shall not be elected to such office for more than one term.”.
The problem is sparking arguments and igniting political discourse. There is disagreement among many politicians and attorneys on Jonathan’s eligibility to run for president in 2027. On Monday, a Federal High Court in Abuja was urged to grant a lifelong injunction prohibiting former President Goodluck Jonathan from appearing before any political party in the nation with the intention of running for president in 2027. The court was also urged to prevent Jonathan’s name from being published or accepted by any political party as a legitimate presidential candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC.
The Attorney General of the Federation and INEC were named as the second and third defendants, respectively, in the case, while former President Jonathan was named as the first defendant. The lawsuit, filed by attorney Mr. Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi and designated FHC/ABJ/CS/2102/ 2025, specifically asked the court to decide one question:
“Whether in view of the combined provisions of the entirety of Sections 1(1), (2) & (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and their conflated interpretation, the 1st Defendant is eligible, under any circumstances [at all] to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?”
Following the question’s resolution, the plaintiff requested four main reliefs, namely:
“A declaration of this Honourable Court that upon an intimate reading and complete understanding of the entirety of Sections 1(1), (2) & (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended the first Defendant (Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) is ineligible to stand for or occupy the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“A declaration of this Honorable Court that in view of the entirety of Sections 1(1), (2) & (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended the 2nd Defendant [the INEC] lacks the constitutional power to receive from any political party the name of the first defendant or publish same as the candidate of any political party for the election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria holding in 2027 and other years to come.
“An order of perpetual injunction of this Honourable Court restraining the first Defendant [Goodluck Ebele Jonathan] from presenting himself to any political party in Nigeria for nomination as its candidate for the general election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, holding in 2027 and other years to come.
“An order of perpetual injunction of this Honourable Court restraining the 2nd Defendant [INEC] from either accepting from any political party in Nigeria the name of the 1st Defendant [Goodluck Ebele Jonathan] or publishing same as a candidate for election into the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria holding in 2027 and other years to come.”
As well as, “an order of this Honourable Court directing the 3rd Defendant [Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation] to ensure compliance with the decisions and Orders of this court.”
The plaintiff informed the court that he supports constitutionalism and the rule of law in an affidavit of facts that was deposed in favor of the lawsuit by Emmanuel Agida.
He said that Jonathan, the first defendant, would have served more than eight years in office if he were to win the 2027 presidential election, which would have given him a four-year term from 2027 to 2031. This is the maximum number of years a Nigerian president is legally allowed to serve.
However, Oba Maduabuchi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, has called the lawsuit against former President Goodluck Jonathan’s ability to run in the 2027 presidential election, which was filed in the Federal High Court in Abuja, a misuse of the legal system. According to Maduabuchi, a competent court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, had already decided on Jonathan’s eligibility, and no appeal had been submitted against that ruling. He said that anyone trying to relitigate the case is “just abusing the process of the court and is a busybody,” and that the current ruling will remain the legitimate legal position until it is overturned.
He clarified that when Jonathan originally took the oath of office in 2010, after President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s death, the 2018 constitutional amendment—Section 137(3)—which restricts a person to one more term if they had previously finished another’s tenure—did not exist. Recalling that the retirement age for judges was raised from 65 to 70, he inquired as to whether a judge who had retired shortly before the change would file a lawsuit to be reinstated under the new legislation. He emphasized that the law requires clarity and pointed out that the Prohibition of 1372 was not in effect in 2011 and 2010 when Goodluck Jonathan took the oath. He was not bound by it.
He said, “No pyrotechnic argument can breathe existence into a law that did not exist. Maduabuchi maintained that the law cannot be applied retroactively and that there was no legal restriction preventing Jonathan from seeking two full terms as president under the constitutional provisions in effect at the time. He said: “Let me start by saying that the suit in the Federal High Court, Abuja, is an abuse of court process.
“An abuse of court process is when you want to relitigate a case or an issue that has already been settled by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“The issue of the qualification or otherwise of Dr Goodluck Jonathan has been settled by the court in Yenogoa. Nobody has taken that issue on appeal. And until that judgment is set aside, it remains what the law is, and anybody who decides that he wants to take it to a court of coordinate jurisdiction is simply abusing the process of the court and is a busybody.
“But what controls a given situation is the position of the law when the act in the issue was done. What was the position of the law in 2011?
“When Doctor Goodluck Ebele Jonathan took the oath of office as president of Nigeria, what was the position of the law? Was section 1373 part of our laws then? You already said that the law came into effect in 2018.
“So when Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was taking the oath of office to complete the tenure of Yar’Adua, there were no statutory limitations in existence then which could inhibit him from running his constitutionally guaranteed two terms. There was no inhibition. When in 2018 you brought in the amendment of 1373, did Goodluck Ebele Jonathan take an oath as president after the amendment?”
According to Monday Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jonathan was not prohibited by the current legislation and might run in 2027. Ubani pointed out that Jonathan’s initial inauguration in 2010, after President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s passing, did not qualify as an elected term. “It is not by election, it’s clearly by disposition of the law, complying with Section 146 of the 1999 Constitution,” Ubani said.
Jonathan’s only valid election win, according to Ubani, was in 2011. He reminded Nigerians that the judiciary had previously made their voices heard prior to the constitutional amendment. When he wanted to run again in 2015, someone went to court, and Justice Mudashiru decided that the president is eligible to run at that time. The previous oath he took in 2010 was taken by succession, not by election, he stated.
According to Ubani, the fourth modification cannot be implemented in the past. Every legislation is prospective. How could a 2017 change that went into effect in 2018 apply to vested rights that occurred between 2010 and 2015? He inquired. “My view is that President Jonathan is clearly eligible under the 1999 constitution to run for 2027… despite the provision of Section 137(3) that came into existence in 2018,” he added.
Similarly, Dayo Akinlaja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), contended that the aforementioned constitutional modification did not affect former President Jonathan. He claims that Sections 137(3) and 182(3) are the pertinent clauses on this complex matter, and they are both straightforward and clear. For anybody who fits inside its parameters, they foretell one term in office. However, as President Jonathan was sworn in and served a term under the previous constitutional regime, the clause in Section 137(3) does not apply to him.
It is important to remember that Sections 182(3) and 137(3) were adopted in 2017 and went into effect on June 7, 2018. Therefore, in his honest opinion, President Jonathan still has the right to run. Nonetheless, Section 182(3) would prevent a Deputy Governor who was sworn in to serve out the remainder of a Governor’s term after the provision’s start.
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