The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal conducted proceedings on Friday, despite a public holiday declared by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.

While the apex court entertained cases it originally fixed for adjudication, panels of the appellate court delivered rulings and judgments on sundry matters, some of which bordered on contract disputes.

Lawyers, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), attended the proceedings notwithstanding the public holiday.

However, legal activities at the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court were paralyzed on Friday.

Whereas the FCT High Court fully complied with the public holiday, at the Federal High Court which is beside the Ministry of Justice Headquarters, the courtrooms were open though no judge sat to conduct proceedings.

It will be recalled that the FCT Minister declared Friday a public holiday in Abuja to enable residents to participate in the Area Council Election billed for Saturday.

The Minister’s action has since drawn criticisms from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), who have not only termed it arbitrary use of power but also noted the absence of precedent.

The Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), in a statement that was signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, insisted that “no clear legal or administrative justification has been publicly provided for the sweeping nature of the shutdown.”

It said: “While encouraging citizen participation in elections is a legitimate and important objective, governance actions must be measured, lawful, consultative, and proportionate.

“The sudden declaration of a public holiday — accompanied by an effective shutdown of the city from Friday evening into Saturday evening — has created widespread inconvenience for residents, businesses, students, and workers across the Federal Capital Territory.

“Rather than fostering confidence in the electoral process, this action has generated avoidable frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty.

“Elections are civic exercises that should be conducted in an atmosphere of calm, openness, and normalcy — not under

conditions that resemble emergency restrictions or extraordinary state control,” it added.