Supreme Court approves use of hijab in Lagos schools

The Supreme Court has approved the use of hijab by Muslims Female Students in Lagos State to school without harassment or discrimination.

The apex court gave the ruling in an appeal – Lagos State Government and Ors V. Asiyat AbdulKareem with suit number SC/910/16 – in Abuja on Friday.

A seven-member panel of the Supreme Court affirmed the July 21, 2016 judgement of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which set aside the October 17, 2014 judgement by Justice Grace Onyeabo of the High Court of Lagos State sitting in Ikeja, which upheld the hijab restriction.

Among those on the panel were Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Justice John Inyang Okoro, Justice Uwani Aji, Justice Mohammed Garba, Justice Tijjani Abubakar, and Justice Emmanuel Agim.

The Lagos State Government had in February 2017 approached the Supreme Court to challenge the July 21, 2016 judgement of the Court of Appeal which reinstated the use of hijab by Muslim pupils in Lagos public primary and secondary schools.

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The development came after the Lagos State Government sought to stay the execution of the judgment at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal but failed.

The case, CA/L/135/15, is between the Lagos State Government, Miss Asiyat AbdulKareem (through her father), Miss Moriam Oyeniyi, and the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria.

While striking down Justice’s Onyeabo’s verdict, the Justice Gumel panel had held that the ban on hijab was discriminatory against Muslim pupils in the state.

The panel upheld the Muslim students’ contention that the ban violated their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, dignity of human persons, and freedom from discrimination guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Gumel also held that wearing hijab was an Islamic injunction and an act of worship required of Muslims, adding that the use of hijab by Muslim pupils could not cause disunity, distraction, and discrimination against students of other faiths.

The Star