The Kwara Government has directed the immediate closure of Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area of the state, over the refusal of the management of the school to allow female Muslim students use Hijab.
This is contained in a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Kawu, on Thursday in Ilorin.
It condemned the flagrant act of discrimination against anyone, especially children, on religious grounds.
The statement also flayed the resort to violence in the government-owned Oyun Baptist Secondary School, Ijagbo, describing the development as totally unacceptable.
It noted that such discrimination would not be tolerated in any public-owned institution in the state.
While the government and security agencies continue to work with leaders on all sides, it however commended the security agencies for their prompt action that has restored normalcy in the area.
The government called on security agencies to investigate and bring to book anyone linked to the violence as a deterrence.
It also appealed for calm as violence brings nothing good.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a number of persons on Thursday sustained various degrees of injuries as protest over the use of Hijab thickened in the school.
A man in his early 20s was seen being rushed to a nearby hospital following a gunshot.
It would be recalled that crisis erupted in some grant-aided schools across the state over the use of Hijab in the last few months.
The Kwara government on Jan. 25 restated its policy and directed management of schools in the state to allow the use of Hijab by willing female Muslim students without forcing it on anyone or disallowing them from school.
Some Muslim parents and their wards were seen on some major streets of Ilorin on Wednesday protesting against the management of Oyun Baptist High School for turning back some students for wearing Hijab.
NAN however reports that normalcy has been restored at the scene as security operations have been beefed up around the area to forestall further breakdown of law and order. (NAN)
