MURIC urges Law School to allow Hijab-wearing students to sit for final Bar examination
By KEMI KASUMU
“While we do not condone cheating or indiscipline in whatever guise and we recommend due punishment for the offence allegedly committed by the female Muslim student after proper investigation, we take the generalisation of the directive on hijab with a pinch of salt.”
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged Nigerian law schools in Abuja, Lagos and Yenagoa to allow female Muslim students wearing hijab to sit for the final Bar examination scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2026.
The organisation’s appeal followed reports of an alleged verbal directive by the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School prohibiting candidates wearing hijab from entering examination halls.
MURIC, however, described the reported directive as discriminatory and an infringement on the fundamental rights of innocent Muslim students.
In a press release issued late Friday, October 30, 2026, the group’s Founder and Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said the reported directive was prompted by an incident in which a female Muslim student wearing hijab was allegedly found with an earpod during an examination.
According to him, the incident reportedly led to a general instruction barring hijab-wearing candidates from entering examination halls.
While condemning examination malpractice and calling for appropriate disciplinary action against any student found culpable after proper investigation, Akintola argued that punishing all hijab-wearing candidates for the alleged misconduct of one student amounted to collective punishment.
He said: “While we do not condone cheating or indiscipline in whatever guise and we recommend due punishment for the offence allegedly committed by the female Muslim student after proper investigation, we take the generalisation of the directive on hijab with a pinch of salt.”
The MURIC director recalled the controversy surrounding Amasa Firdaus, whose refusal to remove her hijab during the 2017 Call to Bar ceremony generated nationwide debate over religious rights and dress codes at the Nigerian Law School.
He maintained that the reported directive violated the principle of natural justice, insisting that disciplinary measures should target the individual allegedly involved in examination malpractice rather than innocent students.
Akintola also argued that compelling Muslim female students to remove their hijabs could amount to stripping them of their religious identity and subjecting them to psychological trauma.
He further invoked Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits collective punishment, to support his argument that individuals should not suffer sanctions for offences committed by others.
Using another examination malpractice scenario to illustrate his position, he asked whether the discovery of examination notes concealed on a student’s thighs would justify barring other students from entering examination halls with their thighs.
“Hijab is therefore not the offender. It should not be banned from the examination hall. Taking it out on the other hijab wearers amounts to stereotyping,” he stated.
The organisation consequently appealed to the Nigerian Law School authorities to reconsider the alleged directive and allow all qualified candidates to participate in the examination without discrimination.
MURIC also disclosed that it had received unverified reports that the Lagos campus had indicated its willingness to allow hijab-wearing female Muslim students to write the examination.
It therefore called on the Abuja and Yenagoa campuses to follow the same course and avoid actions that could generate another controversy over religious freedom and access to legal education.
The organisation reiterated that students found guilty of examination malpractice should face appropriate sanctions, but maintained that such punishment should not be extended to other candidates on the basis of their religious dress.
The statement was signed by Professor Ishaq Akintola, Founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
