The Federal High Court has fixed December 21, 2026, to January 5, 2027, for its Christmas and New Year vacation, assigning eight judges to handle urgent cases across four judicial divisions.
The Chief Judge, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, approved the recess, with regular court sittings scheduled to resume on Wednesday, January 6, 2027.
Under the arrangement, the Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Enugu divisions will maintain limited operations to attend to urgent applications.
The vacation sittings, provided for under Order 46, Rule 4(c) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, will cover fundamental human rights applications, vessel arrest and release cases, pre-election matters and other issues of urgent national importance.
Justices I. E. Ekwo and O. A. Egwuatu will serve in Abuja, while Justices Akintayo Aluko and Ogazi F. Nkemakonam will handle cases in Lagos.
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Justices P. M. Ayua and A. T. Mohammed have been assigned to Port Harcourt, while Justices F. O. G. Ogunbanjo and M. T. Segun-Bello will serve in Enugu.
Other cases outside the approved categories will await the resumption of regular proceedings.
A similar arrangement was adopted in 2025, when the court commenced its Christmas vacation on December 19 and resumed regular sittings on January 7, 2026, with designated judges attending to urgent matters.
The 2026 schedule was announced in a notice issued on Monday, November 9, by the court’s Director of Information, Dr Catherine Oby-Christopher.
Justice Tsoho also extended Christmas and New Year greetings to judges and other members of the court.