Court adjourns Jonathan eligibility case to May 15, warns plaintiff over absence 

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has threatened to award costs against lawyer Johnmary Jideobi over his absence in court in a suit seeking to restrain former President from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

At the previous sitting, Justice Lifu had ordered that hearing notices be issued and served on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), listed as the second and third defendants in the suit.

However, when the matter came up for hearing on Monday, neither the plaintiff nor his legal representative was present in court.

Counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche, urged the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution, arguing that the plaintiff failed to show seriousness in pursuing the matter.

Uche told the court that the plaintiff was present during the last adjourned sitting when the hearing date was fixed, but neither appeared in court nor sent any letter to explain his absence.

He further informed the court that the former president had already filed and served a notice of preliminary objection, adding that issues had been joined in the case and the suit could therefore be dismissed.

The senior lawyer also prayed the court to dismiss the matter with substantial costs against the plaintiff for wasting judicial time.

In a short ruling, Justice Lifu said that in the interest of fair hearing, the plaintiff should be given another opportunity to appear before the court. He warned, however, that costs would be awarded against the plaintiff if he failed to appear at the next adjourned date.

The matter was subsequently adjourned until May 15.

Credit: TVC