BREAKING NEWS: Court Orders Status Quo in UI Hijab Case, Adjourns Hearing to October
Appeal Court warns International School against action on Muslim students pending application over hijab dispute
By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has ordered all parties in the protracted legal dispute over the use of hijab at the International School, University of Ibadan (ISI) to maintain the status quo, pending the hearing of an application seeking to halt the enforcement of its recent judgment.
The three-member appellate panel, led by Justice Kenneth Ikechukwu Amadi, on Wednesday fixed 7 October 2026 to hear an application for an injunction pending appeal and a stay of execution filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
In the interim, the court directed that no action should be taken against the Muslim female students at the centre of the dispute, warning the school principal against harassment, intimidation or any measure capable of altering the existing situation while the application remains before the court.
The proceedings mark the latest development in the long-running legal battle over whether willing Muslim female students may wear the hijab to the International School, University of Ibadan, following last week’s Appeal Court judgment which overturned an earlier High Court ruling that had upheld the students’ constitutional right to wear the Islamic headscarf.
Court documents obtained by Muslim News showed that the matter, listed as CA/IB/347/2024, came before the Ibadan Judicial Division of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday as part of its civil motions.
Appearing for MURIC, counsel Alhaji Hassan Taiwo Fajimite urged the court to preserve the subject matter of the litigation by granting an injunction pending appeal and staying the execution of the judgment delivered last Friday.
He argued that neither the University of Ibadan nor the International School possessed the legal authority to remove, prevent or sanction Muslim female students who chose to wear the hijab while the dispute remained before the courts.
During the proceedings, members of the appellate panel expressed concern over actions reportedly taken by the school’s principal following last week’s judgment.
The court questioned the basis for any action against the affected students before certified true copies of the judgment had been issued and criticised what it considered unnecessary haste in implementing the ruling.
According to those present in court, the justices also cautioned legal representatives against encouraging what one member of the panel described as “madness”, while asking the principal to justify the steps already taken against the students.
The principal was said to have been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation.
Following submissions from counsel representing both parties, the court ordered that the existing situation be preserved until it determines MURIC’s application, before adjourning further proceedings until 7 October.
The application follows last Friday’s split decision of the Court of Appeal, which set aside the judgment of the Oyo State High Court declaring unconstitutional the school’s restriction on the use of hijab by willing Muslim female students.
In that ruling, the appellate court held that the earlier Supreme Court decision affirming the right of Muslim students to wear the hijab applied to public schools and not to privately managed institutions such as the International School, University of Ibadan.
The judgment prompted strong reactions from Muslim organisations across the country, with MURIC announcing its intention to challenge the decision at the Supreme Court.
Tensions were evident when the school resumed on Monday after the judgment. Muslim female students who chose to wear the hijab were initially stopped by security personnel before eventually being allowed into the school premises.
Wednesday’s ruling means that, pending the determination of MURIC’s application in October, the current arrangement will remain in force, with the court making clear that no party should take steps capable of prejudicing the issues still before it.
The latest order effectively pauses any further action over the disputed hijab policy until the Court of Appeal hears arguments on whether its judgment should be suspended while the matter proceeds to the Supreme Court.
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