Protests by Muslim students of Oyun Baptist High School
in Ijagbo, Oyun local government area of Kwara on the use of Hijab on the one hand and Christian students who opposed the use of Hijab on the other hand yesterday turned bloody leaving one person dead and several others sustained various degrees of injuries.
It was gathered that the violence was triggered by the decision of the management of Oyun Baptist High school, on 17th January 2022 that Muslim students should not wear Hijab to the school again.
Meantime, Kwara State Government in a statement on Thursday by Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu over the latest development condemned the violence, saying that its unacceptable.
It was reliably gathered that parents of the Muslim students and their Christian counterpart protested on Thursday morning at the gate of the school each displaying placards to express their position.
But the protest suddenly turned violent as the parents clashed and their sympathisers and hoodlums took over, leading to free use of dangerous weapons, during which one person was reportedly shot in the head and four others sustained severed injuries.
The intervention of anti riot mobile police team drafted to restore peace in the school saved further loss of lives.
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According to a source, “The person that sustained gun shot in the head has been reported dead this afternoon. It was a peaceful protest before it was hijacked by sympathisers and hoodlums leading to these casualties.”
Spokesman of the state police command, Ajayi Okasanmi, in a statement said normalcy has been restored in the area.
He warned the residents of Ijagbo to embrace the peace, warning that anyone found threatening the peace of the state would be arrested and prosecuted.
Meanwhile, 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.
In a statement issued by the state Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Kawu, on yesterday 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.
Also, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria has condemned the development describing it was a criminal act by some misguided elements within Ijagbo and Offa Axis of the state.
In a statement released and jointly signed by the National Coordinator of the Group Alh. Abdullahi Ibrahim and Chief Missioner of the group in Kwara State, Sheikh Abu Sheriff, MMWG called on the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Tuesday Assayamoh to ensure that criminals involved in the crisis are arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
The group called on security agencies to investigate and bring to book anyone linked to the violence. It also appealed for calm as violence brings nothing good.
