TDJustice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has rebuked a plaintiff, Johnmary Jideobi, and his counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, over what the court described as a lack of diligence in prosecuting a suit seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
The judge described the conduct of the plaintiff and his lawyer as “unacceptable” and subsequently awarded a ₦1 million cost against Jideobi in favour of the former president.
Justice Lifu observed that the suit, filed on October 6, 2025, had suffered repeated delays due to the attitude of the plaintiff and his counsel.
He expressed surprise that six months after filing the case, the plaintiff had yet to serve the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), who are listed as the second and third defendants respectively.
The judge also noted that counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche (SAN), informed the court that his client only became aware of the suit through media reports before deciding to file and serve their legal processes.
Justice Lifu further criticised the absence of both the plaintiff and his lawyer during a previous court sitting on May 11, despite the hearing time being fixed for 2 p.m. at the request of Ukpai.
Although Jonathan’s lawyer requested ₦5 million in costs against the plaintiff, the court declined the full request in the interest of fairness.
When the matter was called on Friday, neither the plaintiff nor his lawyer was initially present in court.
However, counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche, and counsel representing the AGF, J. D. Esho, were in attendance.
The court registrar confirmed that hearing notices had been served on the plaintiff and INEC.
Uche subsequently urged the court to dismiss the suit with substantial costs, arguing that the plaintiff and his counsel had shown disregard and disrespect for the court process.
According to the senior advocate, the plaintiff dragged a former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces before the court and later abandoned the matter without explanation.
“The plaintiff thinks he can hold the court and other parties to ransom and stay back in the comfort of his house and drag all of us to court,” Uche said.
He further argued that there must be consequences for such conduct, insisting that the dignity of the court must be protected.
Counsel to the AGF, J. D. Esho, informed the court that her office had only been served with Jonathan’s response to the suit on May 11 and had yet to receive the plaintiff’s originating summons.
The court registrar also confirmed that while INEC received hearing notices, it had not been served with the plaintiff’s originating processes.
Midway into the proceedings, Ukpai entered the courtroom and apologised for arriving late, explaining that their vehicle developed a fault on the way to court.
“My lord, I am sorry. I am for the plaintiff. Our vehicle broke down on the way,” he pleaded.
Following arguments from all parties, Justice Lifu adjourned the matter until May 18 for the hearing of all pending applications and the substantive suit.
