The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged the Kwara State Government not to compromise its stands on hijabs for Muslims in government schools.
This was contained in a statement issued by MURIC Director, Ishaq Akintola, on Thursday, March 17.
Akintola also accused the Christian Association of Nigeria of instigating religious crisis in the state.
Recall that violence erupted at the Baptist Secondary School, Surulere, Ilorin, Kwara capital, on Wednesday, over the refusal of the school authorities to allow female Muslim students to use hijab.
Parents of the students engaged the school authorities in a hot argument which resulted into a stone-throwing contest between Christians and Muslims.
But Akintola, in his statement, queried why the CAN refused to comply with the directive of the court on the issue.
“Both the Ilorin High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled in favour of hijab. It is therefore illegal, illegitimate, unlawful and unconstitutional for CAN to insist that its members should not obey the courts and that the schools should not allow female Muslim students to use the hijab or even enter the school premises. It is the height of lawlessness.
“We assert that CAN should be held responsible for whatever happens in those schools. Refusal to obey court order is a flagrant confrontation of democracy and a threat to good governance, law and order and peaceful coexistence. Or is CAN above the law?
“It is unfortunate that CAN has failed to learn from history. The latest order given to Christian students to wear strange garments like church choir and masquerade dresses to school will fail woefully just as it did in Osun State. For how long can Christian students wear choir dresses to school. We will see who blinks first.
“We invite all right-thinking Nigerians to take a critical look at the game playing out in Kwara State. It is a well-known fact in modern society that any group that flouts court pronouncement is inviting chaos. This is exactly what CAN is doing in Kwara State. We therefore call on stakeholders to call CAN to order.
“MURIC warns the Kwara State Government (KWSG) against compromising its authority over this issue. Any attempt by KWSG to spoon-feed CAN or to sweep the right of the Muslim girl-child to wear hijab under the carpet will be resisted by the Muslim community. The law is on our side. On hijab we stand,” he said.
