Hijab: Lagos Appeal Court ruling will aid rule of law says group

The Justice Now Foundation, JNF, a civil society organization based in Osogbo, Osun State has commended yesterday’s ruling of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, which upheld the right of Muslim students in public primary and secondary schools in Lagos State to wear hijab (Muslim scarf) on their school uniform. In setting aside previous judgment of a Lagos State high court, a five-justice panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Justice A.B. Gumel held that, “the use of hijab is an Islamic injunction and also an act of worship hence it will constitute a violation of the appellants' rights to stop them from wearing hijab in public schools.”

JNF in a statement signed by its chairman Mr. Kunle Afolayanka stated that its sees this judgment as a leap forward in our bid to nurture our diversity as a nation.

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has once again established a critical principle that the rule of law is supreme, the JNF stated.

“We appreciate the doggedness of the Muslims Students Society of Nigeria, MSSN, Lagos Area who unlike their Osun chapter, Christian Association of Nigerian, did not take the laws into their hands when an unfavourable judgment was delivered by Justice Modupe Onyeabor of the Lagos High Court in October, 2014.”

“The Muslims have through their actions shown the CAN group in Osun what it means to be a good example in thought and in deed.”

The court of Appeal in its judgment followed the path of the Osun State judge when it held that the use of hijab by pupils in public schools was part of female Muslim students’ fundamental human right.

“Of interest to us is that only two of the five Justices who presided over the case were Muslims, hence many can’t accuse the judges of bias unlike the case of Osun, where the judge who delivered a favourable judgment to the Muslims is a Muslim.”

“What’s more? The decision of the court of Appeal has discounted the malicious accusations on the Osun Governor , Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who some misguided groups ignorantly accused of masterminding the hijab judgment in Osun.”

“They ignore that the hijab controversy has never been about the ‘people’s leader’, but about two opposing religion who felt each other’s right was being trampled upon.”

“For us at JNF, We have always maintained that the use of hijab was a constitutional matter that only the courts can resolve. We take this opportunity to once again appeal to interested parties in Osun to allow the rule of law take its course like it did in Lagos rather resort to self-help.”