By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
The Supreme Court, on Friday, overruled Lagos State on its restriction of the use of head covering (hijab) by female Muslim students of public schools in the state.
In a split decision of five to two, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court affirmed the July 21, 2016 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which set aside the October 17, 2014 judgment by Justice Grace Onyeabo of the High Court of Lagos State, which upheld the hijab restriction.
Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun led the majority judgement, which was read by Justice Tijani Abubakar.
He dismissed the appeal filed by the Lagos State against the 2016 judgement of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, on the grounds that the appeal was without merit.
Stonix News recalled that the Lagos State government had banned the use of hijab, arguing that it was not part of the approved school uniform for pupils in the state.
Following the ban, the students filed the suit on May 27, 2015, seeking redress and asked the court to declare the ban as a violation of their rights to freedom of thought, religion and education.
The case, CA/L/135/15, is between the Lagos State Government, Miss Asiyat AbdulKareem (through her father), Miss Moriam Oyeniyi and the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria.
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