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The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has overturned an earlier judgment of the Oyo State High Court that allowed Muslim students of the International School, University of Ibadan (ISI), to wear hijab as part of the school’s uniform.
In a two-to-one majority judgment delivered on Friday, the appellate court ruled that the Supreme Court’s decision permitting the use of hijab applies only to public schools and not to private institutions such as ISI.
The court consequently set aside the 2022 judgment, which had declared the school’s ban on hijab unconstitutional and a violation of the students’ rights to freedom of religion and protection from discrimination.
The suit was filed by 11 students with the support of the Muslim Rights Concern.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Biobele Georgewill, with Justice K.I. Amadi concurring, held that ISI is a private school and is therefore not covered by the Supreme Court’s ruling on hijab in public schools.
The court also held that the students voluntarily accepted the school’s rules, including its dress code, by signing an undertaking upon admission, adding that the right to religious expression can be waived in such circumstances.
Justice Fadawu Umar dissented, maintaining that the appeal lacked merit and should have been dismissed.
The legal dispute began in 2018 when Muslim students challenged the school’s prohibition of hijab. The Oyo State High Court ruled in their favour in 2022, but the Court of Appeal has now reversed that decision, affirming the school’s authority to enforce its uniform policy.
