Police, NSCDC quell hijab protest in Kwara

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It took the intervention of officials and men of the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to put the situation under control in Ijagbo, Oyun local government area of Kwara State on Thursday as a peaceful protest on the use of Hijab turned violent.

The Nigerian Tribune gathered that a number of people sustained varying degrees of injuries in Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo during the melee.

It was also gathered that one of the injured persons, a man in his early 20s, was rushed to a nearby hospital after he reportedly sustained machete cuts.

It is recalled that there had been a crisis over the use of Hijab in some missionary schools in the state for the past few months, as management of the Oyun Baptist High School turned back students who wore hijab.

Sources said that trouble, however, began on Thursday when some Muslim parents staged a peaceful protest to the school premises over the purported rejection of their wards and members of the Islamic faith for wearing hijab.

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One of the sources, who was on the spot during the protest, said that the situation was initially peaceful until some of the protesters allegedly sustained machete cuts.

“This triggered an angry reaction from the protesting Muslim parents who looked around for various weapons to protect themselves, just as the police and civil defence quickly swung into action to dispatch them.

“The police shot into the air and also used teargas to dispatch the protesters to put the situation under control,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the Kwara State government had on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, restated its policy and directed management of schools in the state to allow the use of Hijab and beret by willing students without forcing it on anyone or turning them back for using them.

Just on Wednesday, some Muslim parents and their wards were on some major streets of Ilorin, the state capital, to protest against the management of Oyun Baptist High school, for turning back some students for wearing hijab.

Also, a government delegation, led by Commissioner for Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, had visited the school on two different occasions to resolve the matter. Another delegation led by Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Architect Mohammed Saifudeen, had also visited the town for the same reason.

Some education stakeholders in the state have said that the state government should close down the school over the incident to restore normalcy.

Biola Azeez