MURIC Challenges OAU Over Exclusion of Hijab-Wearing Students
The Muslim rights group alleges that female students were barred from the International School premises unless they removed their hijabs and demands an immediate end to the reported restriction.
By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has challenged the authorities of the International School, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, over the alleged exclusion of hijab-wearing Muslim female students from the school premises.
MURIC said the students were excluded from school for several days after the authorities allegedly insisted that they remove their hijabs before entering the school compound.
The organisation said the students eventually returned without their hijabs after they were allegedly informed that the OAU Governing Council would not consider the matter until its next meeting in December 2026.
MURIC’s Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, made the allegations in a statement issued on Monday, October 5, describing the development as discriminatory and a violation of the students’ religious freedom.
“The question MURIC is asking is why must the rights of Muslim children be sacrificed for this?” Akintola said, arguing that the students should not be denied access to education because of their religious dress.
He accused the school authorities of using what he described as “arm-twisting tactics” against the students and alleged that the policy amounted to stereotyping and Islamophobia.
Akintola further questioned why hijab should prevent Muslim girls from attending school, noting that the head covering is worn by Muslim women and girls in educational institutions in different parts of the world.
MURIC also challenged the legal basis of the reported restriction, citing Section 38 of the Nigerian Constitution, which provides for freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The organisation urged OAU and the International School authorities to respect religious freedom and ensure that one faith is not used to oppress another.
The group said the dispute extends beyond the affected students and their parents, warning that prolonged exclusion from school could have wider consequences for the children’s education and relationship with their faith.
Akintola also questioned whether school authorities were using their positions to pressure Muslim students to abandon the hijab, an allegation that was not supported by evidence in the statement.
The OAU International School describes itself as an institution focused on academic excellence, moral integrity and global competence, and says it operates within the Obafemi Awolowo University environment in Ile-Ife.
MURIC called for the reported hijab restriction to be lifted “unconditionally and with immediate effect”, arguing that access to education should not be made conditional on Muslim students abandoning a religious practice.
The organisation’s allegations had not been independently verified at the time of publication, and the statement issued by MURIC did not contain a response from the International School or OAU authorities.
The dispute comes against the wider challenge of keeping Nigerian children in education. MURIC cited a United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) figure putting Nigeria’s out-of-school children at 18.3 million as of 2025, arguing that the reported exclusion of the students comes at a time when the country is battling to reduce its out-of-school population.
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