Hijab ban: Lagos requests time for settlement

Lagos State Government yesterday before an Ikeja High Court pleaded
for more time to settle out of court over its ban on wearing of Hijab
by female Muslim students in the state's primary and secondary
schools.
Praying for more time to resolve the issue, Mr. Samuel Ajanaku told
the court that the delay from the government to work out a reasonable
term of settlement and present same to the court was due to
bureaucracy in the system.
He therefore urged the presiding judge, Justice Modupe Onyeabo to
grant further adjournment to enable both parties conclude on the
settlement terms.
The Muslim Student Association of Nigeria(MSSN) had dragged the state
government to court over the ban, maintaining that the ban by the
state violates their fundamental human rights.
The applicants are also contending that banning female students from
using Hijab on or outside the premises of any educational institution
in Lagos State "is wrongful and unconstitutional".
When the matter came up yesterday,counsel to the MSSN, Lagos State
Area Unit, Mr. Adetola Kasim (SAN), asked the court to proceed for
the hearing of the case, since according to him, the State Government
had not responded to a proposal for terms of settlement sent since
July, 2013.
Adetola urged the judge to let the case proceed as it is of high
public interest which cannot wait any longer.
The state through its counsel however, pleaded for further
adjournment, claiming that the terms are currently at the office of
the governor.
Justice Onyeabo however granted the application and adjourned the case
till December 19 for report on settlement