The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, Kwara Area Unit has advised the Kwara State Government to retain all missionary schools in the state and continue funding them.
Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulmumin, the Amir and Chairman of MSSN, Kwara State Area Unit, gave the advice.
He spoke when he fielded questions from the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Ilorin.
Abdulmumin also advised the government to exercise its powers by changing the names of all grant-aided missionary schools, owned by government, to names that depict the ownership of the schools by the community and not any missionary body.
He observed that the missionary schools in the state were built, established and ran with taxpayers money.
Abdulmumin criticised the state government for its poor handling of the case of alleged murder of Habeeb Idris and maiming of several other Muslims at the premises of Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo on the February 4, 2022.
According to him, Idris was killed during the skirmishes that ensued over the Hijab protest for schoolgirls in Kwara State.
He added that the case was yet to be resolved, while the government decided to open the Oyun Baptist High School.
He noted that the society was still awaiting the appropriate assignment of the panel of inquiry, and the much anticipated justice from the state government in the matter.
The MSSN chairman further stated that government must address the issue on ground, and provide long-lasting solution to the problem.
Besides, Abdulmumin urged the government to avoid favouritism and allow justice to prevail over the Oyun Baptist High School, Ijagbo Hijab crisis, murder of Idris and maiming of several other Muslims.
He said: “We demand that government should duly and appropriately compensate the family of the deceased and the perpetrators brought to book.
“We also advice that government should form a formidable committee, consisting of legal and security operatives, who would see to the enforcement of the government’s order and the orders of the court on the rights of Muslim students in government-owned schools on wearing of Hijab.”
Abdulmumin recalled the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in favour of secondary school students in Lagos State and by extension all states of the country to use Hijab.
He said it should be respected.
NAN.