The Federal High Court will begin its 2025 annual vacation on 28 July, according to a circular issued on Thursday by the court.
The circular, quoting the Chief Judge, John Tsoho, stated that the vacation would run until Tuesday, 16 September, while full court sittings would resume on Wednesday, 17 September.
“The vacation is to enable judges to enjoy their well-deserved rest and prepare for the challenges of the new legal year,” the chief judge said.
The notice, signed by the Court’s Director of Information, Catherine Christopher, explained that the annual long vacation is in accordance with Order 46, Rule 4(d) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019.
During the period, only three core court divisions — Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt — will remain open to the public for urgent judicial matters.
The circular clarified that while court registries will continue to accept filings, judges will generally not hold regular sittings. Only those designated to handle emergency cases can sit during the vacation.
The Abuja division will attend to matters from the Federal Capital Territory and the North-central, North-west, and North-east regions.
The Lagos division will cover cases from the South-west, while the Port Harcourt division will handle matters from the South-south and South-east regions.
Vacation judges have been assigned to each division to hear cases of “extreme urgency” only.
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Two judges, Emeka Nwite and M.S. Liman, will preside in Abuja, while Deinde I. Dipeolu and Musa Kakaki will sit in Lagos. Two judges, P.M. Ayua and A.T. Mohammed, will be on duty in Port Harcourt.
The circular noted that only urgent matters, such as applications for the arrest of ships and the enforcement of fundamental rights, will be entertained during the vacation.
Mr Tsoho reiterated that full court activities will resume across all divisions on 17 September.
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