The crisis on the use of Hijab in public schools in Kwara State which resurfaced at Oyun Baptist High School (OBHS), Ijagbo, Oyun local government area has claimed casualties as one person was feared dead and many sustained varying degrees of injury on Thursday.
Eye witnesses said trouble began when some Muslim parents led by the Grand Muftee of Yorubaland, Ameer Taawun, staged a peaceful protest to the school premises over the purported rejection of their wards and members of the Islamic faith for wearing hijab.
According to their narrations, the situation was initially peaceful until the situation degenerated into violence when an unidentified man rushed to the school to inform other protesters of a machete cut.
This triggered an angry reaction from the Muslim protesting parents as they looked around for various weapons to defend themselves.
A number of persons on sustained various degrees of injuries. The eyewitness reports said a man identified as Habeen Mustapha was seen being rushed to a nearby hospital after he was reportedly shot at.
The use of Hijab had generated controversy in some missionary schools in the state over the past few months.
The State Government had on Jan. 25, restated its policy and directed management of schools in the state to allow the use of Hijab by willing Muslims without forcing it on anyone or turning them back for using it.
Some Muslim parents and their wards were seen on some major streets of Ilorin on Wednesday protesting against the management of Oyun Baptist High School for turning back some students for wearing Hijab.
A government delegation, led by the Commissioner for Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Kawu, had twice visited the school to resolve the matter.
Another delegation led by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Mohammed Saifudeen, also visited the town for the same reason on Thursday.
The festering crisis boiled over on Thursday with the fracas that took a combined team of police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to resore nolmacy.
The police fired warning shots into the air and also use teargas to dispatch the protesters in order to control the situation as unidentified persons from inside the Oyun Baptist High School, were seen throwing missiles at those outside the premises.
Confirming the development, the Public Relations Officer of the Kwara Police Command, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, said security personnel had been deployed to the scene to restore peace.
Meanwhile, the state government has condemned the resort to violence in the government-owned Oyun Baptist Secondary School, Ijagbo, saying the development was totally unacceptable.
Government has also directed that the school be shut pending the resolution of the crisis.
A statement by the commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu said that the state government condemned “the flagrant act of discrimination against anyone, especially children, on religious grounds”, adding that such discrimination would not be tolerated in any public-owned institution in the state.
“While the government and the security agencies continue to work with leaders on all sides, it hereby directs the immediate shutdown of the school pending resolution of the issue.
The statement commends the security agencies for their prompt action that has restored calm in the area. The government calls on them to investigate and bring to book anyone linked to the violence as a deterrence to others.
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