… As Muslim clerics storm school to enforce court ruling

From Clement Adeyi, Osogbo

Osun Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday disclosed that neither he nor his administration had ever ordered the use of hijab by female Muslim students in public schools in the state.

The governor stated this yesterday at a Roundtable on Development Collaborative Framework for Education  and Advancement organised by the Development and Advancement in Western Nigeria (DAWN) in Osogbo, the state capital.

He challenged those who accused him of ordering the use of hijab to bring concrete evidence to substantiate what he referred to as “their mischievous claims.”

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Aregbesola also challenged those he claimed to have accused him of trying to plunge the state into religious crisis to present a video clip or voice recording as well as a written speech that could confirm‎ where he ordered female Muslim students to wear hijab on their uniform to public schools.

Meanwhile, despite  last ditch efforts by government and security agencies to ensure that the controversy over the use of hijab does not snowball into religious crisis, some Muslim clerics in the state, yesterday, stormed Saint Charles High School, as well as Ife Oluwa Middle School both in Osogbo to enforce the June 3, 2016, court judgement which permitted female Muslim students  wear hijab to public schools.

Daily Sun learnt that despite the cleric’s entreaties to reach compromise with the school authority, the principal of Saint Charles’ High School, Mr Anthony Famoriyo, reportedly told them that he could not fulfil their request because he had yet to get a directive by the Ministry of Education to the effect.

He, however, told them that no teacher would prevent any student from wearing hijab the moment the school received a directive from government.