A graduate of the Nigeria Law School was on Wednesday December 13, 2017 denied access to the International Conference Centre, Abuja venue of the call to bar ceremony. Firdausi Amosa, a law graduate of the University of Ilorin, was denied access into the hall because she insisted on wearing hijab under the wig. The incident has attracted a great deal of reactions from individuals and groups in the country, which illustrates the sensitive nature of the matter.
Over a dozen Muslim oganisations have condemned the Law School’s action. They include Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria, MMPN; Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria, MULAN; Federation of Muslim Women Associations of Nigeria, FOMWAN; Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, MSSN; Abuja Muslim Forum, AMF and Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association, UNIFEMGA. Others are the Muslim Consultative Forum, MCF; Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria, MUSWEN and the Muslim Community of Oyo State, MUSCOYS.
National President of the Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) Abdur-Rahman Balogun said, “The refusal by authorities of the Nigeria Law School to call Firdausi Amosa to the bar was a gross violation of her right to freedom of religion as provided by section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.” Balogun added, “It is our belief that female lawyers in Nigeria like their counterparts in other advanced countries should be allowed to dress properly in accordance with their belief.”
Muslim Rights Concern [MURIC] also called on the National Human Rights Commission [NHRC] to conduct a full investigation into allegations of religious stigmatization at the Nigerian Law School; stressing the need for a general reform of the school. National President of MSSN Jameel Muhammad described the restriction on the use of hijab as Islamophobia, saying “If my religion demands something from me and I am not contravening any law of the country, I see no reason why they should trample upon the fundamental, God-given and constitutional right given to me.”
National Ameerah of FOMWAN Halima Jibrin said the Muslim Ummah in the country will ensure that Amosa’s study of the law profession is not in vain. Mrs. Jibrin who met the leadership of MULAN in company of Ms Amosa affirmed that “injustice done to one is injustice done to all’. She further appealed to the body of benchers to look into the case and provide an amicable solution that will give ordinary Nigerians the confidence that the right to practice their chosen religion would be protected by those expected to uphold these rights.
Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs [NSCIA] Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar decried the raging controversy over hijab and said hijab simply means decent dressing for Muslim women which is part of Islam. The Sultan who spoke in Lagos at the recently held 5th National Convention of Muslim Public Affairs Centre [MPAC] said he could not decipher why hijab would be so controversial to the extent that female Muslims who adorn hijab would be molested. Represented at the occasion by Wazirin Katsina Alhaji Sani Abubakar Lugga, the Sultan said hijab is not only a mode of dressing in Islam but also an acceptable mode of dressing in Christianity.
While the House of Representatives last week, directed its committees on Justice and Federal Judiciary to investigate the matter and report back to the House within two weeks, there has so far been no official statement from authorities of the Nigerian Law School. Concerns raised in the past by a substantial section of the citizenry over the use of hijab have led to the provision of alternative uniforms in schools and in hospitals to allow female students and nurses respectively use hijab. While we do not support open defiance of an existing policy by students, we call on the Nigeria Law School to review its dress code and provide for female students to use hijab. Such a provision will not take away anything from the professional ability of a barrister or a lawyer-in-training.
