MPAC Condemns Appeal Court Judgment on Hijab Ban, Backs Supreme Court Challenge
The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) has strongly condemned the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, which overturned an earlier High Court ruling that upheld the right of Muslim female students at the International School, University of Ibadan (ISI), to wear the hijab, describing the decision as a threat to constitutional religious freedom and announcing its support for an appeal to the Supreme Court.
In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by its Executive Chairman, Disu Kamor, the organisation described the split decision of the appellate court as “legally unsound, socially dangerous and fundamentally incompatible” with Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
The judgment, delivered by a three-member panel in a two-to-one majority decision, set aside the 22 May 2024 ruling of the Oyo State High Court, which had declared that the ban on the hijab imposed by the International School, University of Ibadan, violated the constitutional rights of 11 Muslim female students.
The legal dispute began in 2018 when the management of ISI prohibited Muslim students from wearing the hijab as part of the school uniform. Supported by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), the affected students approached the High Court, which ruled in their favour in 2024.
However, the Court of Appeal held that ISI should be regarded as a private institution because it does not receive government subventions and therefore was not bound by the Supreme Court’s earlier decision affirming the right of Muslim students to wear the hijab in public schools.
The majority judgment further held that the students had voluntarily accepted the school’s code of conduct upon admission, thereby waiving any right to challenge the dress code.
Justice Fadawu Umar, in a dissenting judgment, disagreed with the majority, holding that the appeal lacked merit and that the students’ constitutional right to wear the hijab remained intact.
Interestingly, while overturning the High Court’s judgment on the hijab issue, the appellate court affirmed that the school’s action in confining the affected students in a library for between three and four hours constituted a violation of their rights. It, however, reduced the damages awarded by the trial court from ₦1 million to ₦200,000.
Reacting to the judgment, MPAC argued that constitutional rights cannot be determined by the funding structure of an educational institution.
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According to the organisation, the International School operates under the authority of the University of Ibadan, a Federal Government-owned institution, making it inappropriate to classify it purely as a private school for the purpose of limiting constitutional protections.
The group also faulted the court’s position that the students had waived their constitutional rights by signing the school’s admission undertaking.
MPAC warned that such reasoning could create a dangerous legal precedent capable of compelling students to surrender fundamental rights as a condition for accessing education.
The organisation further argued that the decision appeared inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Lagos State Government & Others v. Asiyat AbdulKareem & Others (SC/910/2016), which recognised the hijab as an inseparable aspect of the constitutionally protected religious rights of Muslim female students.
According to MPAC, restricting the application of that precedent only to government-funded schools weakens constitutional guarantees and opens the door to discriminatory policies in private and mission-owned schools.
The group commended Justice Umar for his dissenting opinion, describing it as a faithful interpretation of the Constitution and existing judicial precedents.
It also praised the International School Muslim Parents Forum (ISIMPF), led by Abdur-Rahman Balogun, for pursuing legal redress, as well as MURIC for filing a Notice of Appeal alongside a Motion for Stay of Execution and Injunction pending the determination of the appeal at the Supreme Court.
MPAC urged the Court of Appeal to expeditiously hear the application for a stay of execution to prevent enforcement of the judgment while the appeal is pending.
The organisation also called on 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, irrespective of ownership or funding arrangements.
It further appealed to the Federal Ministry of Education, state education authorities, the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), civil society organisations and other stakeholders to support efforts aimed at protecting the constitutional rights of Muslim students.
MPAC maintained that no Nigerian child should be forced to choose between education and religious convictions, insisting that the hijab remains a constitutionally protected expression of faith rather than a matter of institutional preference.
The organisation pledged to continue supporting the affected students and their families through advocacy, public engagement and legal mobilisation until the matter is finally resolved by the Supreme Court.
By PRNigeria
