Appeal Court rules UI International School can enforce ban on hijab

The Court of Appeal in Ibadan has reversed an earlier judgment that allowed Muslim students of the International School, University of Ibadan (ISI), to wear hijab as part of the school’s approved uniform, ruling that the institution is not bound by legal precedents governing public schools.

In a majority decision delivered on Friday, two members of the three-man appellate panel held that the Supreme Court’s earlier pronouncements on the use of hijab in schools apply exclusively to public educational institutions and not to privately run schools such as ISI.

The judgment nullified the 2022 ruling of the Oyo State High Court, presided over by Justice Moshood Ishola, which had declared the school’s prohibition of hijab unconstitutional and held that it infringed on the students’ rights to freedom of religion and protection from discrimination.

The legal action was initiated by 11 Muslim students with the backing of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), following a disagreement over the school’s dress code policy.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Biobele Georgewill, whose position was supported by Justice K.I. Amadi, ruled that the International School, University of Ibadan operates as a private institution and is therefore entitled to enforce its established regulations.

According to the court, “ISI is a private school, not a public institution, thereby overturned the earlier judgment on the matter.”

Justice Georgewill further held that the constitutional right to practise one’s religion is an individual right that may be voluntarily limited under certain contractual arrangements.

He stated: “The students had waived that right by signing an undertaking to obey ISI’s rules and regulations, including its dress code.

“In public schools, you can wear hijab on school uniforms based on the judgment of the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court is yet to make any decision on the use of hijab in private schools.”

The decision was, however, not unanimous.

Justice Fadawu Umar dissented from the majority opinion, maintaining that the appeal lacked merit and should not have succeeded.

The controversy dates back to 2018 when some Muslim students challenged the International School’s refusal to permit the use of hijab alongside the prescribed school uniform.

Four years later, the Oyo State High Court ruled in favour of the students, finding that the restriction violated their constitutional rights to religious freedom and protection against discrimination.

The school authorities subsequently challenged that decision at the Court of Appeal, culminating in Friday’s judgment, which restored the school’s authority to enforce its existing dress code pending any contrary pronouncement by the Supreme Court on the application of hijab policies in private schools.