MPAC alleges discrimination as law school denies barring hijab at Bar exams

The Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) Nigeria has accused the Council of Legal Education of defending discriminatory practices rather than addressing the complaints following its response to allegations that female Muslim candidates were harassed for wearing hijabs during examinations at the Nigerian Law School.
   
On their part, the Nigerian Law School has denied allegations that hijab-wearing female Muslim candidates were harassed or prevented from entering examination halls during the Bar Final Examinations held on 31 October.
   
In a statement by the Secretary to the Council and Director of Administration, Aderonke Osho, the school described the allegations as false, insisting that it had no policy or institutional practice of religious discrimination.
   
However, in a statement yesterday, MPAC said the council’s response, dated November 4, failed to address specific accounts of harassment at the Bwari and Lagos campuses, including reports that candidates were compelled to remove their hijabs and rewrap them like turbans before entering examination halls.
   
The organisation called for an independent investigation into the October 31 incidents, the publication of examination screening guidelines and assurances that Muslim candidates would not face discrimination for wearing religious garments.
   
Faulting the council for describing the reports as false, MPAC insisted that its complaint was about the treatment of candidates who were admitted after being asked to alter their religious garments, not their outright exclusion.

Meanwhile, the institution explained that its examination rules were designed to ensure proper identification, prevent malpractice, and protect the integrity of the examinations.
   
It disclosed that a female student wearing a hijab was apprehended during the Bar Part I examinations on October 29, after she was allegedly found with an earpiece hidden in her hijab and a mobile phone strapped to her thigh.
   
The school said it was still investigating the incident in line with its examination rules and relevant regulations, insisting that examination security measures were applied fairly, without discrimination.