Lagos Court delivers judgment on pupils' dress code today

An Ikeja High Court in Lagos will on Friday (today) deliver judgment on whether or not Hijab (Muslim head-scarf) should be in use in public primary and secondary schools in Lagos State. Justice Modupe Onyeabo is to deliver judgment in the suit in which the Muslim Students of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit is the complainant, while the Lagos State Government is defendant. The MSSN had dragged the state government to court, challenging the ban of Hijab by pupils in the state. MSSN, in its affidavit, seeks to protect pupils from being flogged, embarrassed, and victimised for using Hijab within and outside school premises. Counsel for the MSSN, Adetola Kassim (SAN), in a 24-paragraph affidavit, said, 'The head-scarf is fundamental rights as fully established in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are not demanding a full length Hijab, we have exhibited a photograph of a sample of Hijab, which still represents their school identity. 'The colour of the Hijab can conform to the school uniform. All we want is for the pupils to use Hijab in school. If beret and caps are allowed for female pupils, Hijab should not be an exemption.' But counsel for the LASG insisted that Hijab could only be used during special occasions, such as religious classes and prayers. - Punch.