Speaking on Tuesday, Maduabuchi noted that the issue of Jonathan’s qualification had already been settled by a competent court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, and that no appeal had been filed against that judgment.
He maintained that until the existing judgment is overturned, it remains the valid legal position, stressing that any fresh attempt to reopen the case amounts to a clear abuse of the court process.
According to the senior lawyer, Section 137(3) of the Constitution—introduced in 2018 to limit a person to one additional term if they have previously completed another’s tenure—was not in existence when Jonathan first took the oath of office in 2010 following the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
He explained that laws cannot be applied retroactively, comparing the situation to the change in judges’ retirement age from 65 to 70, which did not benefit judges who had already retired before the amendment.
Maduabuchi stated that legal certainty must be upheld, adding that “no pyrotechnic argument can bring to life a law that did not exist at the time an action was taken.”
He therefore concluded that the constitutional amendment of 2018 cannot disqualify Jonathan from contesting in 2027, since the law was not in existence during his previous tenures.
