No public school in Lagos should ‘punish pupils’ for wearing hijab

Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, the Lagos state commissioner for home affairs, says no public school should prevent or punish pupils for wearing hijab, an Islamic headscarf.

Following the Appeal Court ruling which granted the use of hijab in public primary and secondary schools in Lagos, the state government had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the judgment.

Hence, the commissioner said all parties involved in the case should patiently await the outcome of the appeal.

Warning against a potential crisis that could emanate if the matter is not handled with caution, he said reports that some principals punished pupils for wearing hijab to school, were displeasing.

Abdullateef made the comments at a programme organised by the Muslim Congress.

“This government headed by Governor Akinkunmi Ambode is fair to all. We are not against any religion. Those punishing pupils for wearing hijab are not sent by us,” he said.

“We have not asked anybody to punish pupils for wearing it to school. We are aware of the court judgment and we have appealed to the Supreme Court.

“Pending the outcome of the Supreme Court judgement, I sincerely appeal to all concerned parties to keep calm. We don’t want crisis.

“We don’t want this to degenerate into crisis and we will continue to respect the right of everybody as enshrined in the constitution.”