* It is a travesty of justice, an inexplicable judicial somersault: Prof Ishaq Lakin Akintola
* Judgment sets dangerous precedent for Muslim students’ rights: Mallam Disu Kamor
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has vowed to challenge Friday’s Court of Appeal judgment on the International School, University of Ibadan hijab dispute at the Supreme Court, describing the verdict as “a travesty of justice” and “a forced abortion in the temple of justice.”
Similarly, the Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) condemned the ruling, describing it as an assault on religious freedom and calling for urgent judicial and legislative action to protect the constitutional rights of Muslim students across Nigeria.
The reactions followed Friday’s judgment of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, which overturned the May 22, 2024 decision of the Oyo State High Court that had affirmed the right of 11 female Muslim students of the International School, University of Ibadan to wear the hijab as part of their school uniform.
In the split two to one judgment, the appellate court held that the International School, University of Ibadan is a private school because it does not receive government subventions.
The court also ruled that although freedom of religion is a fundamental right, it is a personal right capable of being waived, holding that the students voluntarily accepted the school’s code of conduct upon admission and therefore could not claim that their rights had been infringed by the school’s dress policy.
This is a travesty of justice, an inexplicable judicial somersault: Prof Akintola
Reacting in a statement issued on Saturday, Founder and Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Lakin Akintola, described the judgment as “an inexplicable judicial somersault” that could not stand.
“This is a travesty of justice, a forced abortion in the temple of justice and an inexplicable judicial somersault. This pronouncement cannot stand pari passu with global best practices,” he said.
According to Prof. Akintola, it is a settled principle of law that a lower court cannot overrule the decision of a higher court, particularly where the Supreme Court had already pronounced on the issue of hijab.
“It is a basic principle in the Nigerian legal system and around the world that a lower court cannot overrule the decision of a higher one, how much more in a case that the Supreme Court had given a pronouncement. It is well known that the Nigerian Supreme Court ruled in favour of the hijab since July 2022,” he stated.
Muslim News gathered that MURIC is not merely supporting the litigation from outside but is an official co plaintiff and named party in the suit alongside the affected students and their parents after joining the proceedings during the course of the case.
Prof. Akintola argued that the constitutional rights of Muslim students cannot be overridden by the rules of any private institution.
“It is our contention that even as a private school, ISI UI has no right to violate Allah given fundamental human rights of Muslim students, more so since the Constitution clearly states that no private rules, regulations or edicts can override its stipulations,” he said.
Declaring that the legal battle was far from over, Akintola said MURIC would challenge the judgment before the Supreme Court.
“This miscarriage of justice will not go unchallenged. We are heading to the Supreme Court. A Christian legal system has robbed Muslims of their identity and their value system. It must not stand. It is a blatant assault on our norms and established social decorum. It has made a caricature of legitimate demands of Muslims. The battle has just started. Supreme Court here we come,” he added.
Sets dangerous precedent against Muslim students’ rights – Mal Disu
In a separate statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Disu Kamor, MPAC described the Court of Appeal judgment as “a direct assault on the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and warned that it represented a troubling retreat from established Nigerian jurisprudence on the rights of Muslim students.
The organisation argued that the court’s conclusion that the International School, University of Ibadan is a private institution merely because it does not receive government subventions was legally unsound, noting that the school operates under the University of Ibadan, a Federal Government owned institution.
MPAC also faulted the majority’s finding that the students had waived their constitutional rights by signing the school’s admission documents, describing the doctrine as dangerous because it could compel citizens to surrender fundamental rights as a condition for accessing education.
The organisation further argued that restricting the effect of the Supreme Court’s 2022 hijab judgment to publicly funded schools weakens constitutional protection for Muslim students and could encourage discriminatory dress policies in private and mission owned schools.
MPAC commended Justice Fadawu Umar’s dissenting judgment and pledged its support for MURIC, the ISI Muslim Parents Forum and the affected students as the matter proceeds to the Supreme Court.
The organisation also urged the National Assembly to enact legislation affirming that the constitutional right to religious freedom, including the wearing of religious attire, applies uniformly to all schools in Nigeria regardless of ownership or funding. It further called on the Federal Ministry of Education and relevant education authorities to prohibit discriminatory dress code policies in schools.
How the UI International School hijab dispute began
The dispute began in 2018 when the management of the International School, University of Ibadan prohibited female Muslim students from wearing the hijab with their school uniform.
The affected students, supported by their parents and later joined by MURIC as a co plaintiff, instituted legal proceedings, arguing that the ban violated their constitutional rights to freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination.
On May 22, 2024, Justice Moshood Ishola of the Oyo State High Court ruled in favour of the students, holding that the prohibition of the hijab was unconstitutional.
However, the Court of Appeal, on Friday, overturned that decision in a split two to one judgment. Justice Fadawu Umar dissented, holding that the appeal lacked merit and should have been dismissed, thereby affirming the students’ constitutional right to wear the hijab.
The appellate court nevertheless upheld the High Court’s finding that confining the affected students in the school library for between three and four hours violated their rights, although it reduced the damages awarded from one million naira to two hundred thousand naira.
With MURIC now heading to the Supreme Court and MPAC rallying support for the appeal while calling for legislative reforms, the long running dispute over the use of the hijab at the International School, University of Ibadan appears set for a final judicial determination by Nigeria’s apex court.
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