Furoe Over Court Of Appeal’s Judgment Voiding Wearing Of Hijab By Muslim Students

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Muslim Public Affairs Centre, MPAC, on Saturday, July 4, 2026, vehemently condemned the decision of the Court of Appeal to reject an earlier trial Court’s ruling upholding the right of Muslim students to wear hijab as part of their uniforms.

This is as the Incorporated Trustees of the Muslim Rights  Concern, MURIC, on Friday, July 3, 2026, approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria, seeking a reversal of the Appeal Court’s judgment.

The source reports that the Appellate court had, on Friday,  in a two-to-one split judgment, nullified the ruling of an Oyo State High Court on May, 22, 2024, affirming the right of 11 female students of the University of Ibadan, International School, ISI, to wear hijab on top of their uniforms.

Ruling on the motion on notice filed by the students against the School, the trial court held that the authorities of the ISI has no power to prevent the students from wearing the hijab as part of their uniforms.

However, the Appellate Court while delivering judgment on the appeal filed by the ISI Management held that the Supreme Court verdict upholding the right of students to wear hijab to school is only in respect of publicly funded schools, and not applicable to private institutions.

The Appeal Court panel led by Justice Biobele Georgewill, with Justice K I Amadi concurring, further ruled that the affected students, having willingly signed the institution’s code of conduct documents, have agreed to subject their rights to the extant rules and regulations governing the operations of the School.

But in a statement issued on Saturday by its Executive Chairman, Disu Kamor, the MPAC described the Court of Appeal verdict as biased, and devoid.of fairness needed in resolving the dress code dispute.

The Muslim right group particularly berated the Appallate court’s decision to reduce citizens’ religious freedom to something that can be determined by funding status of an institution.

The group contented that the Court of Appeal judgment is diametrically in conflict with the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in the case involving the Lagos State Government and Ors v Asiyat Abdulkareem and Ors which explicitly affirmed the right of Muslim students to wear hijab as an aspect of their constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom.

The MPAC further described the Court of Appeal ruling as an assault on the fundamental right of Muslim citizens to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

‘MPAC holds that the major decision is legally unsound, socially dangerous, and fundamentally incompatible with the letter and spirit of Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which guarantees every citizen the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to manifest and practise religion.

“The right does not diminish because a citizen is a minor, and it does not evaporate at the gates of a school, whether public or private.

“The majority’s finding that ISI is a private school turns on the narrow fact that it does not receive Government subventions. MPAC rejects this as a book-keeping test masquerading as constitutional analysis.

“Section 38  of the Constitution does not qualify it’s protection by an institution’s funding structure, and a child’s right to religious freedom cannot rationally depend on whether a subvention cheque changes hands.

“ISI is, in every material respect, a school established ,and administered under the auspices of the University of Ibadan, a Federal Government-owned institution operating on public land under public academic supervision.

“To hinge the entirety of these students constitutional protection on a subvention technically is to let form triumph over substance and it hands every private, and faith-affliliated school in Nigeria a ready-made template for discriminating against Muslim students with impunity.

“Also, the Judgment contradicts itself. The same panel that found no infringement of the students’s religious rights nonetheless upheld the trial court’s finding that confining these students to a library for three to four hours was a violation of their rights, merely reducing the damages awarded from one million to two hundred thousand naira.

“MPAC finds it impossible to reconcile a judgement that recognises the wrongfulness of punitively detaining Muslim students over their hijab, while simultaneously ruling that stripping them of the right to wear that same hijab is no violation at all.

“This internal contradiction exposes the fragility of the majority’s reasoning, and strengthens the case for Appellate review by the Supreme Court”, MPAC stated.

This is as the group urged the Court of Appeal to grant the application for a stay of execution filed by MURIC, pending the hearing and determination of its appeal before the apex court of the land.

The Source further reports that MURIC had, on Friday, few hours after the Court of Appeal’s verdict, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court in addition to a motion for a stay of execution

While reacting to the Court of Appeal’s judgment, MURIC, in a statement on Friday, informed that it has already filed and served a Notice of Appeal, alongside a Motion for Stay of Execution/Injunction pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

“The legal implication is that the International School, University of Ibadan, which we believe is a law abiding educational institution, cannot lawfully prevent Muslim students from wearing the hijab pending the hearing and determination of the Motion for Stay of Execution/Injunction pending appeal.

“Members of the public, parents, and affected students are kindly advised to remain calm while the legal process runs its course”, MURIC added.