The Federal High Court of Nigeria has announced its schedule for the 2026 Easter vacation, outlining a week-long break while maintaining skeletal operations in key judicial divisions for urgent matters.

In a formal circular signed by the court’s Director of Information, Dr Catherine Christopher, the court stated that the vacation was approved by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, in line with Order 46, Rule 4(c) of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2019 as amended.

Under the arrangement, regular court sittings across the country will be suspended for the duration of the Easter break, with full activities set to resume in all judicial divisions immediately after the vacation period.

Despite the general closure, the court emphasised that its core judicial divisions in Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Enugu will remain open throughout the vacation. These divisions will operate strictly to hear matters classified as extremely urgent.

The statement specified that only a narrow category of cases will be entertained during the break. These include applications and suits relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights, matters involving the arrest or release of vessels, and cases touching on issues of dire national interest.

To ensure continuity, the Chief Judge has designated specific judges to serve as vacation judges in the affected divisions. In the Abuja Judicial Division, Justices Emeka Nwite and Musa S. Liman will preside over urgent matters. The Lagos Judicial Division will be manned by Justices Akintayo Aluko and Ogazi F. Nkemakonam.

For the Port Harcourt Judicial Division, Justices Phoebe M. Ayua and Adamu T. Mohammed have been assigned as vacation judges, while Justice Mabel T. Segun-Bello will handle urgent cases in the Enugu Judicial Division.

The circular further directed vacation judges and heads of divisions to promptly refer any matter that appears to require special or extraordinary attention to the Chief Judge for appropriate directives, underscoring central oversight of sensitive or high-impact cases during the holiday period.

The court also clarified that the dates and arrangements contained in the circular override any previous information on the Easter vacation that may have been circulated or obtained from other sources, urging lawyers, litigants and the public to be guided accordingly.