PRESS RELEASE: Averting crisis in Lagos State, Mrs Ukpaka must be brought to justice!

The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Lagos State Area Unit hereby calls the attention of the state government and the entire peace-loving citizens of the state to the inhuman, unprofessional, barbaric and shameless act of Mrs E.C Ukpaka, Principal, Kadara Junior Grammar School, Ebute Metta, who, because of Hijab, subjected a JSS 1 student, Aisha Alabi, to the most horrible abuse and disgrace.

Our findings show that Aisha wore the Hijab outside the class in the school compound when she was seen by Mrs. Ukpaka who immediately called an emergency assembly and allegedly ordered her to be beaten. The students at the assembly, we learnt, counted no less than 43 strokes of cane landing on the hapless little girl’s body! This happened on Tuesday February 5, 2013 around some minutes to 4pm!

This is quite unfortunate and unacceptable in a country where the constitution guarantees the citizens right to practice andMANIFEST any religion of their choice without any interference from any quarter.

The use of Hijab by Muslims anywhere in the country, especially in public institutions, is a fundamental right issue. And fundamental human rights are rights which when denied man becomes an automatic diminution of his humanity. It is a right that can never be whittled down by any administrative enactment or procedure.

Section 38 (1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution guarantees this right to practice our religion. It states that ‘Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, AND FREEDOM (EITHER ALONE OR IN COMMUNITY WITH OTHERS, AND IN PUBLIC OR IN PRIVATE) TO MANIFEST and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.

Section 42 (1) clearly spells it out that no citizen shall be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to any form of DISABILITIES orRESTRICTIONS by reason of belonging to a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, RELIGION or political opinion.

 

If all these provisions are clearly guaranteed in the nation’s constitution, we are seriously at a loss as to why Mrs Ukpaka, who we expected to know better and act accordingly, would deliberately and with impunity violate the provisions of the constitution. No school rules or regulation can take away the right to wear the Hijab by female Muslim students as stated by the constitution!

 

Aside the fact that the principal brazenly violated the constitution, what if the little girl dies in the process of beating her, what excuse would she give as her reason? This amounts to CHILD ABUSE!

 

Mrs Ukpaka’s action demonstrates the deep hatred and disgust that most non-Muslims school principals in Lagos State have against our law abiding female members. Hers is not the first as others had done similar thing in the past without any disciplinary action against them by the state government.

 

In the light of this, we are demanding that the Lagos State Government immediately suspends Mrs Ukpaka from office and order a full investigation on the matter.

Ours is a law abiding organisation and the state government can attest to this fact. It should be noted that the leadership of the MSSN Lagos State Area Unit had had course in the past to keep its members across the state calm over recurrent abuses and discriminations against our sisters in the face of government’s indifference towards bringing to justice those maltreating them because of Hijab.

However, we must state that failure to take disciplinary action against Mrs. Ukpaka this time around would draw the anger of the entire Muslim Students’ population in the state.

We say ‘enough is enough.’

Signed:

Sulaimon Alamutu

PRO, MSSN, Lagos State Area Unit.

08186013330