One Killed, Several Others Injured In Kwara Hijab Crisis

One person has been killed and several others injured following a protest by parents of students prevented from wearing hijab at Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

It was gathered that hoodlums unleashed terror on peaceful protesters at the school who were protesting against the January 17th decision of authorities of the school to prevent hijab-wearing Muslim pupils from gaining access.

In a move to douse the tension, the Kwara State government ordered the immediate closure of the school, while directing that hijab or beret-wearing should be made optional in all grant-aided schools.

Naija News reports that these were made known by the State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu.

Kawu said: “The state government totally condemns the resort to violence in the government-owned Oyun Baptist Secondary School, Ijagbo, on Thursday. This is totally unacceptable.

“The state government unreservedly condemns the flagrant act of discrimination against anyone, especially children, on religious grounds. Such discrimination will 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 government 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 deterrence to others.

“The government appeals for calm as violence brings nothing good.”

Also speaking, Kwara Police Command stated that its tactical units and conventional operatives have restored normalcy to the area.

It appealed to the warring parties to embrace peace and shun any act that could jeopardize the current peace in the area.