A Federal High Court in Abuja has slammed a ₦1 million fine on the plaintiff seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election, after the court accused him and his lawyer of stalling the case.

According to cbinews.tv, the Federal High Court in Abuja has fined plaintiff Johnmary Jideobi ₦1 million for delaying a suit aimed at stopping former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Justice Peter Lifu blamed both the plaintiff and his lawyer, Ndubuisi Ukpai, for failing to diligently prosecute the matter, describing the repeated delays as unacceptable. The court ordered that the fine be paid directly to Jonathan.

While delivering his ruling, Justice Lifu stressed that political cases must be treated with urgency, noting that the suit, filed since October 2025, had still not been properly served on INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The judge also directed the plaintiff to serve all court documents within two hours, while the second and third defendants were ordered to file their responses before 11am on May 18, 2026.

The court further recalled that Jonathan’s lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, had earlier revealed that the former president first heard about the suit through media reports before he was officially served.

Justice Lifu also noted that neither the plaintiff nor his lawyer appeared in court on May 11, despite personally requesting that the matter be heard that same day.

Although Jonathan’s legal team demanded ₦5 million in compensation, the court reduced the amount to ₦1 million in the interest of fair hearing.

The case has now been adjourned till May 18 for hearing.

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