The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan has overturned a judgment of the Oyo State High Court that permitted Muslim students of the International School, University of Ibadan, to wear hijab as part of the school’s uniform.
In a split judgment delivered on Friday, the three-member appellate panel held, by a majority decision of two to one, that the Supreme Court’s decision permitting the use of hijab applies only to public schools and not private institutions such as the International School, University of Ibadan.
The appellate court set aside the earlier judgment delivered by Justice Moshood Ishola of the Oyo State High Court, which had held that the school’s ban on hijab violated the affected students’ constitutional rights to freedom of religion and freedom from discrimination.
The suit was instituted by 11 students with the support of the Muslim Rights Concern.
Delivering the lead majority judgment, Justice Biobele Georgewill, with Justice K.I. Amadi concurring, held that “ISI is a private school, not a public institution, thereby overturned the earlier judgment on the matter.”
