A Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election.

Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu dismissed a suit filed by Johnmary Jideobi seeking to stop Jonathan from presenting himself as a presidential candidate and restrain INEC from accepting his nomination.

The court held that the plaintiff lacked the legal standing to institute the case, noting that he failed to show any personal loss or injury arising from Jonathan’s possible ambition.

Justice Lifu also stated that both a Federal High Court in Yenagoa and the Court of Appeal had previously affirmed Jonathan’s eligibility to run for president again, adding that he was bound by those decisions.

The judge described the suit as an abuse of court process and dismissed a separate application seeking his withdrawal from the matter.

The court awarded ₦20 million damages against the plaintiff in favour of Jonathan and an additional ₦1 million in favour of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The ruling comes days after a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reportedly endorsed Jonathan as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.