A Court of Appeal in Ibadan has ordered all parties in the hijab dispute at University of Ibadan International School to maintain the current situation while it considers the case further. The court made the ruling on Wednesday and scheduled the next hearing for 7 October, 2026.
The secondary school, which is owned by the University of Ibadan, became the centre of a legal battle in 2018 when female Muslim students were barred from wearing hijabs. The parents of the affected students, led by Alhaji Abdulrahman Balogun, filed a lawsuit to challenge the ban.
An Oyo State High Court ruled in 2024 that Muslim students have the right to wear hijabs in the school. However, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision on Friday in a split judgment.
The appellate court noted that the Supreme Court's ruling on hijab rights applies only to public schools, not to the university's secondary institution. Despite this, the judges ordered both sides to preserve the status quo pending the final resolution of the case.
The three-judge panel, headed by Justice K.I. Amadi, was hearing an application for an injunction pending appeal filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
The case is marked as CA/IB/347/2024 in the Ibadan Court of Appeal's civil motions list.
Justice Amadi warned the school, its teachers, and administrators against harassing or intimidating the Muslim students over the matter. The court explicitly ordered the institution to take no action against the affected students until the case is resolved.
The dispute has stretched on for eight years since the initial ban was imposed. This latest ruling effectively freezes the situation on the ground while the court reviews the substantive arguments from both sides.
