Nigeria’s Supreme Court affirms Muslim students’ right to worship at Rivers State University

Unanimous ruling ends 14-year legal dispute, upholds orders requiring campus space for Islamic worship

By Abdullahi Yusuf

Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal by Rivers State University, affirming lower court rulings that Muslim students have the right to observe prayers and establish a place of worship on the institution’s Nkpolu Oroworukwo campus.

The unanimous decision brings to a close a legal dispute that began in 2012 after Muslim students alleged that university authorities restricted their ability to conduct prayers and erect structures associated with Islamic worship.

The case, filed as Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/150/2012 at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, was brought by Umaru Wazuru and 98 other students against the then Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University and the Attorney General of Rivers State. Represented by Oloriegbe & Co., the students sought declaratory reliefs, arguing that the restrictions were unconstitutional and discriminatory.

They asked the court to order the university to allocate land for Muslim students to worship, similar to facilities available to Christian groups on campus.

In a judgment delivered on Feb. 19, 2013, the Federal High Court ruled in favor of the students, holding that prohibiting Muslim students from establishing a place of worship while churches existed on campus violated constitutional guarantees of freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The court rejected the university’s argument that a mosque was not included in the institution’s original master plan, describing that reasoning as inconsistent with constitutional protections.

Rivers State University appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, in Appeal No. CA/PH/614/2015. On March 31, 2017, the appellate court unanimously dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and affirmed the lower court’s ruling.

A further appeal was filed at the Supreme Court under Suit No. SC/055/2018. Court records indicate the appeal was lodged outside the prescribed time. When the matter came up for hearing on Feb. 10, 2026, the apex court unanimously dismissed the appeal, effectively ending the litigation.

With the dismissal, the judgments of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal remain binding, recognizing the students’ right to worship within the university and to be allocated a suitable space for that purpose.

Under Nigeria’s constitutional framework, Supreme Court decisions are final and binding on all authorities and persons. Legal analysts say noncompliance with subsisting court orders could expose institutional authorities to contempt proceedings, which may attract sanctions, including imprisonment.

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