A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday adjourned till May 11, 2026, a suit seeking to disqualify former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the matter following an application by the plaintiff’s counsel, Ndubuisi Ukpai, who told the court that he was only recently served with a preliminary objection filed by the defence and needed time to respond.

The suit, which has continued to generate legal debate over Jonathan’s eligibility, is asking the court to determine whether the former president can lawfully present himself for another presidential contest under the 1999 Constitution.

However, proceedings took an early twist when counsel to Jonathan, Chris Uche (SAN), informed the court that he only became aware of the matter through media reports and had been working to ensure that all necessary court processes on behalf of the former president were properly filed.

Uche also drew the court’s attention to what he described as similar issues previously determined by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, questioning why the controversy around Jonathan’s eligibility was resurfacing.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation, listed as second and third respondents, were not represented in court.

After listening to submissions from parties, Justice Lifu adjourned the case and ordered that hearing notices be properly served on all respondents before the next date.

The suit was instituted by lawyer Johnmary Jideobi, who is asking the court for declarations that Jonathan is constitutionally ineligible to contest the presidency again.

He is also seeking an order restraining the former president from presenting himself to any political party as a candidate in the 2027 general election, as well as a directive barring INEC from accepting or publishing his name as a presidential candidate.

At the heart of the case is a constitutional interpretation question posed by the plaintiff: “Whether in view of the combined provisions of sections 1(1), (2) and (3) and 137(3) of the 1999 Constitution, the 1st defendant is eligible, under any circumstances whatsoever, to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Jideobi argued that Jonathan had already exhausted the constitutional limits for the office, having completed the tenure of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua after his death in 2010, and later serving a full four-year term after winning the 2011 presidential election.

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, Emmanuel Agida, who deposed on behalf of the plaintiff, said the legal action became necessary following reports that Jonathan was considering another presidential bid in 2027.

According to the plaintiff, allowing Jonathan to contest and potentially win, would amount to him taking the presidential oath of office for a third time, which he contends is prohibited under the Constitution.

Justice Lifu had earlier, on April 28, ordered that hearing notices be issued and served on all defendants after noting that some parties had yet to file responses in the matter.

With Tuesday’s adjournment, the court is expected to return to the eligibility question on May 11, as the legal battle over Jonathan’s political future continues to unfold in Abuja’s corridors of judicial power.

The Federal Government has called on media organisations and public institutions to ensure accuracy in the official appellation of President Bola Tinubu in all publications and communications.

In a press statement signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, on Friday, the office expressed concern over what it described as the “frequent error” in the way the President’s title is presented by some organisations and media outlets.

Akume stressed that the correct and official appellation of the President should always read: “His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

“For the record, the correct and official appellation is: His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the SGF stated.

The clarification, according to the statement, became necessary following an error observed in the naming and appellation of the president in a publication by a national daily on Wednesday, May 7, 2026.

Akume noted that such mistakes are avoidable and urged journalists, editors, and organisations to verify official titles before publication to prevent what he described as “avoidable and embarrassing errors”.

He further advised that official confirmations and verifications can be obtained through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation’s verified communication channels, including its social media platforms and official email address.

The statement listed the office’s official platforms as Facebook: @OfficeoftheSGF, Instagram: OfficialOSGFNG, X (formerly Twitter): OfficialOSGF, while enquiries can also be directed via email at [email protected].

The Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Olohundare Jimoh, has reiterated that the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) no longer exists in any form within the police structure.

He also dismissed claims that former SARS operatives were regrouped into new tactical units.

Videos of police officers involved in altercations with civilians have been circulating online, following the recent shooting of Mene Ogidi, a 28-year-old man in Effurun, Delta state.

However, the AIG claimed most of the videos resurfacing are old videos from as far back as 5 to 6 years ago.

Jimoh said this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, saying everything learned from the ‘EndSARS’ is being followed.

“The SARS has been disbanded, and there is no area where the Old SARS were migrated into another Squad or formation for them to do anything.

According to him, former SARS officers were not dismissed from the police because they were “conventional police officers and general duty officers,” but were instead redeployed to different units within the force.

He also explained that extensive reforms and retraining programmes had been carried out following the disbandment of the controversial unit, with the involvement of international human rights organisations.

“A lot of internal human rights organisations, including the Red Cross international, and others even participated in ensuring that we reshape the behaviour of all these personnel.

“While I was CP Lagos, the Red Cross was in my office to ensure that those people who were rehabilitated in terms of performing their duty and ensuring that they continue to respect human rights and dignity and their behaviour is in contact with members of the public, conform with the international best practices, so they were very debriefed”.

He further addressed the recent videos circulating online of police officers mistreating people, saying,

“Eventually, all the videos that you are seeing online, outside the incident that happened in Delta, are extremely old videos, some of them dated to about 5 to 6 years ago, that people are now tagging as something that just happened.

Despite this, he disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police had established a high-level committee to investigate all the viral videos and determine whether any recent abuses were involved.

“If there is any recent case among them, those responsible will be identified and dealt with appropriately in line with the law,” he said.

ASP Jimoh urged Nigerians to avoid spreading unverified information online, stressing that misinformation could undermine public trust and national security.

“We want people to know that if you are helping the police force, then you are helping Nigeria. Whatever you put out should be based on facts,” the official stated.

He also appealed to citizens to verify videos and reports before sharing them, insisting that the police were not attempting to cover up genuine cases of misconduct.

“We want people to ensure that before you move a video to another person, verify if they are true or not. There are quite a number which are rampant but happened 5 to 6years ago but we are not sweeping anything under the carpet”, he added.