Hijab victory for Muslim students as Court rejects UI International school’s appeal

Stanley Ihedigbo

International School Ibadan (ISI), University of Ibadan, has once again lost its bid to halt the execution of a court judgment allowing female Muslim students to wear hijab.

This was a sequel to striking out of the application for a stay of execution of the previous judgment on May 22, 2024, granting the female Muslim students the right to wear their hijab on the school uniform by an Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan.

Justice Moshood Isola, who presided over the court on Tuesday, gave the judgment following an appeal by the management of the school asking for a stay of execution.

Delivering the ruling on the application, Justice Ishola who delivered the May 22 Judgment, ruled that it amounts to judicial impertinence for the court to entertain a pending application at the appeal court.

“This court lacks jurisdiction to entertain such an application; it can only rule on a matter if the application is in limbo without being given a number at the appeal court”, Ishola declared.

Earlier, the leading counsel to the applicants, Mr. Magnus Ejelonu, argued that his application was premised on order 4, rule 10 of the Appeal Court, stating that a case is admissible when records had been received and assigned file in the court registry.

In his submission, the leading counsel to the 11 female Muslim students of the UI-ISI, Mr. Hassan Fajimite, expressed disappointment in the school management for attempting to scuttle the enforcement of fundamental human rights following a well-founded judgment of the High Court.

Speaking in the same vein, Mr Yusuf Anikulapo, Counsel to an incorporated trustee of the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, corroborated Fajimite’s submission that a record of appeal has been transmitted by the applicant, adding that his case has been assigned Suit No: CA/IB/345/2024.

The Presiding Justice Ishola, therefore, re-struck out the application for lack of merit and noinconsistentnt with the laid down rules.

Reacting to the judgment, the Chairman of ISI Muslim Parents Forum, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, described the judgment as a welcome development, as the school children have been living harmoniously, as evident in the 2024 Yearbook, where all the students live peacefully irrespective of their tribe and faith.

Balogun added that the judgment also gave testament to the international status of the school, which ought to allow for the inclusivity of all, irrespective of race, tribe, and religion.

Similarly, the Ambassador of the Oyo State Chapter of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Mallam Ibrahim Agunbiade, described the decision of the management of the International School Ibadan (ISI) as an act against peaceful coexistence.

He urged the school management to abide by the well-founded judgment of the High Court and replicate other international Schools around the globe.