Lagos school principal defies Supreme Court on Hijab

PRINCIPAL OF ELETU ODIBO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, YABA, MRS. CHRISTIANA SOFUYE AND OTHERS DEFY SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT AND HOS CIRCULAR ON HIJAB. TASKS MALE STUDENT TO ASSAULT FEMALE STUDENT.

On Tuesday 13th December, 2022, Mujeebah AbdulQadri a JSS 2 student of Eletu Odibo Junior High School, Abule Oja, Yaba wore her Hijab to school in conformity with the Supreme Court judgement and the circular of the Head of service. As soon as she entered the school premises, Mrs Oshinjowon, the Business Studies teacher, asked her to remove her Hijab or return home with her mother who accompanied her to school that morning, despite the fact that exams were ongoing.

Mrs. Abdulqadir insisted that she wanted to see the principal, but she was informed by Mr. Babafemi, the Vice Principal that the principal was not around and that he could not attend to her on the matter. She went further to see Mrs. Akintola another Vice Principal who also informed her that the principal was not around and that she could not also attend to her on the Hijab issue.

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Mrs. Abdulqadir waited for several hours to see the principal and had to leave when she was continuously told the principal was not around. She later found out that the principal was available all along, but because she did not recognize her ( as she was a new principal), Mrs Abdulqadir was constantly lied to that the principal was not available and the said student was not allowed to put on the Hijab.

On Thursday 15th of December, while assembly was on going, the principal Mrs. Christiana Sofuye, signaled the said student to remove her hijab, when she failed to do so she called on a male student F.A , to assault Mujeebah by forcefully removing the Hijab from her head on the assembly ground, which he did successfully.

The hijab matter in Lagos state has gone on more than 12 years, with the Muslim community being peaceful and using legal means to exert their Rights. Despite the Supreme Court Judgement and the Head of Service Circular six months after, Muslim girls are still being assaulted and harassed for exercising their God given Rights are Guaranteed under the 1999 constitution as amended.

We call on the Lagos State Government, particularly the Head of service and the Commissioner of Education to call all those concerned to order and met out befitting consequences for this act. Lagos has been a state of peace and religious tolerance, Let us work together to keep it that way. The Muslim community is watching and waiting!

Mutiat Orolu-Balogun,
Executive Director,
Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative
hijabrightsadvocacyinitiative@gmail.com
19 December 2022