From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Federal High Court, Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking an order to stop the conduct of elections and examinations on Saturdays in Nigeria.
Filed against the Federal Government by the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Nigeria, the court described the suit as “frivolous, vexatious, irritating, and baseless”.
The church had claimed that Saturday is its Sabbath day of worship and that the fundamental rights of its members are being brutally breached by the conduct of elections and examinations on Saturdays.
It prayed the Court to prohibit the Federal Government of Nigeria from further conducting elections and examinations on the Sabbath day to stop the disruption of their rights to worship.
Ruling on the suit on Wednesday, Justice James Kolawole Omotoso held that the fundamental rights being claimed by the church were not at large and could not be curtailed by government policy.
The Court also held that the Seventh Day Adventist Church, being a minority in Nigeria, cannot impose its doctrine on the majority of other religious denominations in the country.
