In Abuja, a Federal High Court has thrown out a lawsuit brought by Ugochukwu Uchenwa, an elder within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, aiming to halt the scheduling of elections and examinations on Saturdays.
The plaintiff maintained that the decision to hold elections and exams on Saturdays encroached upon his rights, underscoring the significance of freedom of worship for both himself and other adherents of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Uchenwa requested that the court declare the practice of scheduling elections and exams on Saturdays unconstitutional.
In another plea, the plaintiff asked the court to mandate the defendants to enable him and other church members to exercise their voting rights or take exams on any weekday, even Sundays.
Among those named as defendants in the lawsuit were the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Examinations Board.
Others are the National Examination Council, the West African Examination Council, the National Business and Technical Examination Board, the Council of Legal Education, and the Ministry of Education.
However, delivering judgment on the matter on Wednesday, Justice James Omotosho held that the suit was frivolous, vexatious, irritating, and baseless.
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Omotosho added that the fundamental rights being claimed by the plaintiff were not at large and could not be curtailed by a government policy.
“The Seventh-day Adventist Church is in the minority in Nigeria and its doctrine could not be imposed on the majority of other religious denominations in the country,” he added.
Following the court’s decision, Benjamin Ahaemefule, acting as the plaintiff’s spokesperson, confirmed to reporters that they would be appealing to the Court of Appeal, underscoring their commitment to continue challenging the legal interpretation.
Ahaemefule pointed out that despite securing partial victories, particularly in specific elements of the case, his client did not achieve success in the primary contention, compelling them to seek redress from the appellate court.
He said, “The court agreed with us that it has jurisdiction to hear our matter.
“The court also agreed with us that elder Uchenwa has the locus standi to institute the action for the enforcement of his fundamental rights and those of the entire members of the Seventh-day Adventist church Nigeria.
“The court agreed with us that the rights of the Adventists are breached.