By Ayomide Otitoju
Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, on Monday urged Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a motion seeking his withdrawal from a suit challenging Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The motion was filed by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, the plaintiff in the suit, who is seeking to stop the former president from participating in the 2027 race.
In the application, deposed to by his counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, Jideobi asked Justice Lifu to recuse himself from the matter over alleged bias.
Counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche (SAN), opposed the motion, describing it as frivolous, baseless, and founded on gross misrepresentation.
Uche urged the court to dismiss the application with substantial costs, arguing that it constituted a gross abuse of court process, and requested that proceedings in the substantive suit continue.
Similarly, counsel to the AGF, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law at the Federal Ministry of Justice, also urged the court to reject the application.
Lami-Shiru acknowledged that a judge could withdraw from a case where continued participation might affect impartiality, but argued that the plaintiff’s motion lacked merit and amounted to an abuse of court process.
She asked the court to dismiss the application, describing it as baseless, unmeritorious, and unsupported by law.
Jonathan and Fagbemi also urged the court to dismiss the substantive suit with substantial costs.
After hearing arguments from all parties, Justice Lifu adjourned the matter until May 26 for judgment.
