By The Metro 
A legal dispute over the eligibility of former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election has moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
This followed a challenge to a recent Federal High Court judgment that cleared him to seek a return to office.
According to The Guardian, an Abuja-based lawyer, Jideobi Johnmary, has filed a notice of appeal asking the appellate court to overturn the May 26 judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu, which held that there was no constitutional barrier preventing former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting another presidential election.
In the appeal, Johnmary raised three grounds, arguing that the lower court’s proceedings were fundamentally flawed and should be declared null and void.
A major plank of the appeal is the allegation that Justice Lifu breached the appellant’s constitutional right to a fair hearing by hearing a motion seeking his recusal alongside the substantive suit and subsequently delivering a combined ruling and judgment.
Johnmary filed a motion on May 11 requesting that the judge withdraw from the case and return the file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment.
However, when the matter came up on May 18, the judge proceeded to hear both the recusal application and the substantive suit before reserving judgment.
The appellant contends that a motion for recusal directly questions a judge’s impartiality and competence to hear a matter and should therefore be determined before any substantive proceedings.
Johnmary argued that the procedure adopted by the trial court denied him access to an impartial tribunal.
The lawyer is therefore asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and return the case to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for reassignment to another judge for a fresh hearing.