Justice James Kolawole Omotoso of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled against a suit brought forth by a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Nigeria, Ugochukwu Uchenwa, aiming to prohibit the conduct of elections and examinations on Saturdays in Nigeria.
The court threw out the suit, filed against the Federal Government, deeming it frivolous, vexatious, irritating, and baseless.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church contended that Saturday, being its Sabbath day of worship, saw its fundamental rights infringed upon by elections and examinations held on that day. Seeking a court order to bar the Federal Government from conducting such activities on Saturdays, the church aimed to safeguard its members’ rights to worship.
However, in his judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Omotoso asserted that the fundamental rights asserted by the church were not unrestricted and could not be restrained by government policy.
Furthermore, the judge emphasized that the Seventh Day Adventist Church constitutes a minority in Nigeria and lacks the authority to impose its doctrines on the majority of other religious denominations in the country.
