Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior is set to declare a nationwide public holiday across all sectors to mark Democracy Day 2026, potentially granting a one-day break for both private and public sector employees.

The federal government’s announcement regarding Democracy Day will be the only national public holiday observed in Nigeria in June 2026.

Democracy Day commemorates the 1993 presidential election and the nation’s struggle for democratic freedom. June 12, 2026, falls on a Friday.

On June 6, 2018, the late former president Muhammadu Buhari, in a public statement, changed the Democracy Day from May 29 to June 12, in honour of the June 12, 1993, presidential election and its winner, Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, who died in prison.

Abiola was born on August 14, 1937 and passed away under suspicious circumstances on July 7, 1998. A popular Ogun businessman, publisher, and politician of the Egba clan, he is often referred to as MKO Abiola.

He ran for the presidency in 1993 and was widely regarded as the presumed winner of the election, which was annulled by former military head of state, General Ibrahim Babangida.

Some southwest states had been celebrating June 12 as a public holiday and are holding ceremonies in Abiola’s honour until Buhari officially declared the day as Nigeria’s real democracy day. The former president, on Monday, June 10, 2018, signed the Public Holiday Amendment Bill into law.

The law, according to the former president’s ex-senior special assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, allows a public holiday to be declared on June 12 every year, while May 29 is to be a handing-over date.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that it has appealed two Federal High Court judgments challenging aspects of its Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Election, maintaining that the processes outlined in the timetable are interconnected and cannot be separated without disrupting the entire electoral programme.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Tuesday during the Commission’s Second Quarterly Consultative Meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja.

According to him, the Commission carefully reviewed the two court rulings and subsequently approached the appellate courts to seek definitive legal interpretations on the issues raised.

The first judgment, delivered on May 20, 2026, in the case of Youth Party vs INEC (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/517/2026), questioned certain timelines contained in the electoral timetable. The second judgment, delivered on May 26, 2026, in Social Democratic Party (SDP) vs INEC (Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/720/2026), upheld INEC’s authority to issue an election timetable but nullified specific timelines relating to the nomination and substitution of candidates.

Prof. Amupitan noted that the court, in the SDP judgment, acknowledged the importance of a comprehensive timetable, stating that “an election timetable, without date for submission of parties’ membership register, timeframe for primaries, etc. is inchoate. Without this timetable, there would be chaos in our electoral system.”

“While the Commission remains fully respectful of the decisions of the Courts and of the judicial process generally, these judgments raise important legal questions concerning the extent of the Commission’s constitutional and statutory powers in coordinating and regulating electoral activities,” he said.

The INEC chairman stressed that the election timetable is built around a series of interdependent processes designed to ensure the orderly, transparent and successful conduct of elections.

He explained that although the Electoral Act prescribes timelines for some activities, several critical electoral processes are not assigned specific statutory deadlines and must therefore be accommodated within the Commission’s broader election calendar.

Among the activities listed by the Commission are the submission and verification of party membership registers, monitoring of party primaries nationwide, uploading of primary election results to INEC’s portal, candidate nomination processes, printing of ballot papers and result sheets, quality assurance procedures, deployment of election materials, training of electoral personnel, voter education campaigns, procurement of sensitive materials, configuration of BVAS machines, and compliance with statutory requirements such as allowing political parties to inspect electoral materials under Section 42 of the Electoral Act, 2026.

“The Commission therefore considers it imperative that all electoral activities be harmonised within a coherent and workable framework that promotes certainty, transparency, administrative efficiency and equal treatment of all political parties,” Amupitan stated.

He assured political parties and the Nigerian public that despite the pending appeals, INEC remains committed to conducting the 2027 General Election in strict compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act and all valid court rulings.

The chairman also announced that on June 26, 2026, the Commission would provide all political parties with official access codes to its Candidate Nomination Portal, enabling authorised national officers to upload the names, personal details and other required information of nominated candidates.

He warned that the nomination portal is fully automated and will automatically shut down once the stipulated deadline expires.

Residents of Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State who recently regained their freedom after spending three months in captivity have recounted their harrowing experiences in the hands of terrorists.

In separate interviews with The PUNCH in Pulka on Monday, the victims spoke about the harsh conditions they endured, including hunger, inadequate shelter, limited access to water, and the deaths of children while in captivity.

The PUNCH had reported that about 360 victims were among the 416 residents, mostly women and children, abducted during a terrorist attack on Ngoshe on March 4, 2026.

One meal/day

One of the freed captives, Halima Musa, said the women were responsible for preparing meals supplied by their captors.

“We ate only guinea corn, once a day. If you ate around 2 p.m., you would have to wait until the next day before eating again. Sometimes, there was no soup. We cooked the food ourselves; they only provided what we were to cook,” she said.

According to her, the captives slept on bare floors on a mountain and had limited access to water.

She added that six children died during the period of captivity.

“While in captivity, we lost six children — two boys and four girls. They died after falling sick,” she said.

Another captive, who asked not to be named, claimed the terrorists appeared to operate a food distribution network.

“I noticed that some people brought food supplies. They would drop some there and take the rest to other terrorist locations. From the way the food was being distributed, I suspected they might have farms somewhere,” the source said.

Teenagers allegedly recruited

Some of the victims alleged that 13 male teenagers were separated from the group shortly before their release and retained by the terrorists.

“Among us, they selected boys between the ages of 13 and 17 to remain with them as fighters. About 13 boys were selected and taken away to another location,” one of the victims alleged.

Another freed captive, Khadijat, said there was no exchange of gunfire or visible military engagement during the process that led to their freedom.

“We did not see any soldiers. The terrorists brought us down from the mountain. They rode motorcycles while we walked. At a certain point, they left us and we made our way to the soldiers,” she said.

She disclosed that some of those released had spent as long as seven months in captivity.

“We met other people who had been kidnapped before us. Eleven of them had spent seven months there. They were abducted while fishing. We all came out together,” she said.

Ghana-Must-Go bags

Some of the freed captives also claimed that several Ghana-Must-Go bags were delivered to the terrorists’ enclave less than 24 hours before their release.

One of the victims, Aishat, said she saw between eight and nine new bags being transported on motorcycles.

“They never told us whether they had been paid anything, but before we came out, we saw them bringing about eight or nine new Ghana-Must-Go bags up the mountain on motorcycles. I did not see what was inside, but it was the first time I had seen such bags there,” she said.

Aishat, however, claimed that the terrorists did not molest the women in captivity.

“They separated the women from the men. We were not harassed,” she said.

Another victim, Regene Simei, also claimed to have seen the bags.

“We lived among rocks on the mountain. I saw what appeared to be bags of money. There were about seven or eight bags, but it was difficult to count because they arrived at high speed on motorcycles,” she alleged.