Aftermath of A’Court Judgment: Kwara Muslims urges govt to enforce religious freedom in schools 

The Kwara State Muslim Stakeholders Forum, on Wednesday in Ilorin has asked the state government to enforce religious freedom of students in all schools in the state, irrespective of their original ownership.

Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Wednesday on the background of a recent judgement of a Court of Appeal won by the state government against some owners of faith based schools in the state, Chairman of the Muslim group, Mallam Is-haq Abdulkarim, appealed to peace loving Christians in the state to advise their brethren to allow peace to reign, not only in schools, but throughout the state.

“You will recall that recently, religious crisis almost erupted  in the Ilorin metropolis as a result of actions pointing to claim that  proprietors of faith based schools already taken over by government  still have full ownership.

“This made them including the (Christian Association of Nigeria) to drag the state government to court; from High Court to Appeal Court from where they lost.

“With this Court of Appeal judgement, which affirmed the earlier one delivered in 2016 by the Ilorin High court, we hereby call on the Kwara State government through the Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development to enforce the religious freedom of all students in schools in the state, irrespective of the so-called original proprietors.

“We seize this opportunity to appeal to peace loving Christians in the state to advise their brethren to allow peace to reign not only in our schools but throughout the state.

“We are concerned over this matter because our children in some Christian secondary schools originally owned by the Christian missions have been facing intimidation, harassment and denial on the basis of their faith- Islam. This is worrisome in a state with over 80 per cent Muslim population of which 14 out of its 16 local governments have overwhelming Muslim majority”, he said.

Abdulkarim also said that the Court of Appeal  judgement on the matter implied that management and control of all grant-aided schools belonged to the Kwara State government and under the control of the state governor.

He also said that according to the constitution wearing hijab in all schools in Kwara State “is the fundamental right of all female Muslim students which cannot be restricted by any regulation or law whatsoever; that right having been donated by the constitution.

“All government policies like changing of class rooms to mosque, building of mosque in schools and all enhancement towards propagation of Islam to students in schools are allowed and must not be stopped.

“To insist that Muslims in all grant-aided schools must dress, pray and sing in Christian ways amount to discrimination of their rights and such must not be allowed”, he added.