The Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja on Friday, ruled that female Muslim students in Lagos government-owned schools are free to use hijab.
The apex court dismissed appeal by the Lagos state government upheld the Court of Appeal judgement that the ban on use of Hijab by students in Lagos, was discriminatory against Muslim students in the state.
The judgement was a majority one of five against two on the panel of seven Justices, including 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 court upheld that the ban violated the Muslim students’ rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, the dignity of human persons and freedom from discrimination guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution.
History of the case
A High Court in Lagos state had ruled in favour of Muslim students and the Court of Appeal had also upheld the lower court ruling on appeal by Lagos state government.
The state government, not satisfied with the decisions of the two courts, approached the Supreme Court which upheld the rights of Muslim female students in public schools in the state to wear Hijab.
In a case file “Re: SC/910/16- Lagos State Govt. and Ors V. Asiyat AbdulKareem”, late Gani Adetola-Kaseem (SAN) led the team of lawyers in this case and also signed and filed the brief of argument few weeks before his death.
The Lagos government had in February 2017 approached the Supreme Court to challenge the July 21, 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeal which reinstated the use of hijab by Muslim pupils in Lagos public primary and secondary schools.
This was after the 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.
A five-man special appellate court panel, presided by Justice A.B. Gumel, had on July 21, 2016, overruled the October 17, 2014 judgment of Justice Modupe Onyeabo of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, which banned the use of hijab in public primary and secondary schools in Lagos State.
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 the hijab was an Islamic injunction and an act of worship required of Muslims.
He said the use of hijab by Muslim pupils could not cause disunity, distraction and discrimination against students of other faiths as declared by the lower court judge.
