The circular, with the reference number CIR/HOS/’22/Vol.1/068 and signed by the State Head of Service, Hakeem Muri Okunola, was issued on Monday, December 5.
The circular, which went into force immediately, came more than six months after the Supreme Court decided in favour of hijab, effectively concluding an eight-year legal struggle over hijab in Lagos schools.
On Friday, June 17, 2022, Supreme Court Justices Olukayode Ariwoola, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Justice John Inyang Okoro, Justice Uwani Aji, Justice Mohammed Garba, Justice Tijjani Abubakar, and Justice Emmanuel Agim ruled in favour of the Hijab.
According to the court, the restriction on Hijab infringed on Muslim students’ constitutional rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, human dignity, and freedom from discrimination.
It will be remembered that the State administration had outlawed the usage of hijab, the Islamic veil worn by female Muslim students, claiming that it was not part of the approved school uniform for kids, sparking a protracted court struggle that was eventually settled by the Supreme Court.
Since the Supreme Court’s decision, there has been an uneasy calm in the Muslim community due to the state government’s silence and refusal to issue a circular to give effect to the ruling.
The Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof Lakin Akintola, had on Monday issued a statement, saying, “LASG appears not to know that its silence over the Supreme Court judgement can be misinterpreted as a deliberate attempt to undermine the rule of law and it may fall foul of contempt of the highest court in the land.”
But shortly after MURIC’s statement was circulated, the state government issued a circular giving full effect to the judgement.
The circular titled, “Supreme Court Judgement on the Use of Hijab in Lagos State Schools read: “It’s hereby notified for general information that the supreme court judgment SC/910/2016 delivered on the 17th of June 2022 on the use of Hijab as it affects pupils/students in Lagos State schools has delivered that the students should be allowed to wear the hijab if desired.
“A Comprehensive Guideline on the use of Hijab in Schools will be issued by the State Government in due course, however, you are to note that the judgement is binding on all schools in the State.
“As a law-abiding administration, all Accounting Officers are to note the contents of this Circular for immediate compliance and give it the deserved Service-wide publicity.”
Hijab Rights Advocacy Initiative (HRAI), one of the organizations that has championed the use of the Hijab and whose membership includes various Islamic organizations in the state, expressed delight at the development.
Hajiah Mutiat Orolu-Balogun, Executive Director of HRAI, stated that the state has demonstrated that it is a responsible and law-abiding government.
She stated, “Now that the state has issued a circular and copied all officers in the State, those who tend to take laws into their hands don’t have any excuse again.”
Also, the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria commended the state government on the circular and urged full compliance with the Supreme Court guidelines.
The Amir (President) of MSSN Lagos State Area Unit, Miftahudeen Thanni, who hailed the government, expressed reservation in the second paragraph of the circular, saying, “It’s a settled matter”.
According to him, the Supreme Court decision already contains guidelines on how to wear the hijab.
The Post ‘Lagos Permits Hijab Wearing in Public Schools and Institutions’ initially appeared on reubenabati
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