Power Blackout Cripples Federal High Court, Lagos

Activities at the Federal High Court in Lagos were crippled on Wednesday following an almost eight-hour power blackout.

The court was in darkness from about 8am.

It was gathered that the court authorities could not resort to an alternative power source because the two generators which supply backup electricity were faulty and undergoing repairs.

A court official, who declined to be named, said efforts were on to get both generators working.

The absence of power stalled the commencement/resumption of proceedings at the court leaving lawyers, litigants and court officials frustrated.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Folabi Kuti was one of the lawyers affected.

He said: “We attended court with the settled expectation of having our matter heard. We got there at about 8am-8:30am and noticed that there was no electricity. We made enquiries if at some point the generators would come on and we were assured that the two generators that power the entire Federal High Court premises were under repairs or being serviced and that hopefully by 9am or thereabouts they would be able to restore power.

“But we stayed there till about 10:30am and when it looked like that was not going to happen, that’s when I had to leave for another matter elsewhere and had my colleagues stay back. The report I got from him about two hours later was that there was still no light.”

The Silk described the situation as worrisome.

Kuti said: “It is worrisome and this is one of the things that slow down the already slow pace of justice delivery in our clime.

“Clearly, there cannot be any activity; judges cannot sit when the room is not illuminated and there is no fan or air conditioner, there is also the discomfort that the situation would bring on the lawyers and others within the courtroom.

“So, it’s quite worrisome and brings to the fore again the issue of judicial financial autonomy.

“It’s just sad that this could happen at the Federal High Court. We hope that some day, pretty soon, all of this would be a thing of the past.”

The power was yet to be restored as of 3:50pm.