MUSLIM RIGHTS CONCERN (MURIC)
هيئة حقوق المسلمين
Motto: Dialogue, Not Violence
18th
April, 2026
PRESS RELEASE:
DELIST JAMB CENTERS
FALLING FOUL OF HIJAB LAW – MURIC
A civil
liberties organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has called for the
delisting of examination centres where acts of hijab discrimination occurred
during the ongoing examination of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination (UTME). The group also demanded sanctions against any official
found culpable.
MURIC's
demand came on the heels of a viral video clip showing embarrassing moments
when a Muslim candidate of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)
examination was publicly harassed and disallowed from entering the examination
centre at the Esther Oshikoya CBT Centre, Ibadan.
According
to MURIC in a statement circulated to the media on Saturday, 18th April,
2026 by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola:
"Nigerians
were stunned as they watched a video clip in which female Muslim candidates,
including one Fatimah Salaudeen, were forced to remove their hijab as a
condition for entry into the examination Hall at the Esther Oshikoya CBT
Centre, along Sango–Eleyele Road, Ibadan, Oyo State on Friday, 17th April,
2026 (https://punchng-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/punchng.com/jamb-blames-overzealous-ad-hoc-staff-member-for-hijab-incident-at-ibadan-cbt-centre/).
"This
action is emblematic of the notorious scenario in apartheid South Africa where ‘Dogs
and Blacks Not Allowed’ was the common notice found in swimming pools and other
public places. They appear to be telling Nigerians that University education is
for Christians only. Those who practice it are therefore committing crime
against humanity.
"JAMB
itself must be commended for criminalising the profiling of hijab at CBT
centers. It is on record that the examination body openly declared its allergy
for hijab discrimination (See: Hijab discrimination not part of JAMB
examination protocol – Official https://crimechannels.com/hijab-discrimination-not-part-of-jamb-examination-protocol-official/).
"Notwithstanding
this red alert, some operators still allowed this criminal act to take place. For
proper situational experimentation, we need to visualise what happens when a
girl-child is disallowed from entering the examination hall. One can imagine
how disturbed and disorganised the female Muslim candidates will be. It will
definitely affect their composure for the exam.
“Their
educational future immediately hangs in the balance. Their chances of passing
the examination are drastically reduced because they are kept waiting outside
the examination hall while other candidates continue writing.
“John
Dewey, the American philosopher, once described democracy as equal
opportunity. But where is the ‘equal opportunity’ for the Nigerian Muslim girl-child
as she is turned to a subject of mockery, harassment and humiliation by
Nigerian Christians at the entrance of JAMB examination hall? To this extent,
democracy in Nigeria is a joke until the fundamental human right of the Muslim
girl-child is enforced by governments at all levels.
"Unfortunately,
nobody remembers to give the poor girl in hijab who has been denied entry any
extra time by the time the matter is resolved and she is allowed to enter and
start the examination. This is usually long after other candidates have started
the examination and some may have finished. It shows that the candidates have
not been given a level playing field. Hijab discrimination is therefore unfair,
unjust and inhuman.
"It
is alarming that Nigerian Christians are still stereotyping and persecuting the
Muslim girl-child several years after the Supreme Court judgement upheld the
use of hijab as constitutional simply because she is a Muslim. This reflects
absence of religious tolerance, lack of respect for the rule of law and
impunity of the highest order.
"The
state governments of the South-West stand to be blamed for failing to act, for
failing to enforce court judgements which support hijab and for failing to
punish those who oppress and persecute the hijab-wearing Muslim girl-child. The
silence of all the six state governors of the South-West in particular on the
refusal of Christians in the region to allow Muslim girls to freely use hijab
in spite of court rulings is deafening and it borders on irresponsibility,
hypocrisy and executive recklessness.
"It
is didactic to note that all the current Yoruba governors are Christians and
none of them has spoken against this religious persecution. The principle of vicarious
liability indicts these governors. They have enabled criminality, aided and
abetted impunity and encouraged contempt of court.
"Are
they waiting for the day Yoruba Muslims will take their destiny into their
hands by rioting over hijab persecution? That day may not be too far away but
they must blame themselves for their lackadaisical attitude on the issue. They
always find it convenient to look the other way when Muslims are at the
receiving end.
"MURIC
demands that operators of CBT centres, JAMB ad hoc staff and security personnel
in centres where acts of hijab discrimination occur must be castigated. The
centres in particular should be delisted. The centre operators should not be
allowed to claim ignorance (their usual excuse) because they are vicariously
liable (unless they show written evidence of instructions to the contrary
passed to those who committed the offence.
“MURIC wants
to see accountability. We want to see respect for the rule of law. Rules are
meant to be implemented for social order otherwise we are inviting commotion. By
their attitude towards hijab, some Christians in position of authority continue
to show that they have no regard for the rule of law.
“Due
to the pro-Christian structure of Nigeria and an anti-Muslim legacy bequeathed
to the nation by the Christian colonial masters and contemporary neo-imperialists,
Nigerian Christians appear to have the wrong impression that all official
matters in Nigeria must follow church rules.
“They
see education as Christian education and legal matters as Christian law only to
the exclusion of Muslim Shari’ah law. Nay, they also see Christians only as those
who have the right to take WAEC and JAMB examinations. Any Muslim seeking
education must drop all vestiges of Islam in him or her! His way of worship,
his Islamic identity, his Muslim name, his manner of dressing, everything…just
like the French total and categorical ‘assimilation’.
“Ceteris
paribus, MURIC is of the opinion that the woman who removed Fatima’s hijab
and probably the school also, should hear from our lawyer once we establish irrefutable
locus standi in order to serve as deterrent to others. That will make
other centres who have the same mindset about Muslims know that it is not going
to be business as usual any longer.
“We warn
that profiling and persecuting Muslims in Nigeria from now on is an invitation
to bedlam. We appeal to Christian authorities not to push Muslim youths to the
wall. To this end, we are drawing up a list of violators of the religious
freedom of Muslims in Nigeria. Persecutors of Muslims on account of hijab and
other civil rights will be top on the list which we intend to send to the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the United Nations.
#JAMB
#United Nations
# National Human Rights Commission
#LASG #OGSG #OYSG #OSSG #ODSG #EKSG
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
