Meanwhile, the state government has directed the immediate closure of the government-owned school pending resolution of the issue.
Tribune Online learnt that the name of the deceased was Habeeb Mustapha, who was reportedly attacked by machete cuts.
Tribune Online also gathered that dangerous weapons were freely used during the melee.
It was also gathered that it took the intervention of officials and men of the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to put the situation under control.
It is recalled that there had been a crisis over the use of Hijab in some missionary schools in the state for the past few months, as management of the Oyun Baptist High School (OBHS), had since January 17, turned back students who wore hijab.
Sources said that trouble, however, began on Thursday when some Muslim parents led by the Grand Muftee of Yorubaland, Ameer Taawun, staged a peaceful protest to the school premises over the purported rejection of their wards and members of the Islamic faith for wearing hijab.
One of the sources, who was on the spot during the protest, said that the situation was initially peaceful until some of the protesters allegedly sustained machete cuts.
“This triggered an angry reaction from the protesting Muslim parents who looked around for various weapons to protect themselves, just as the police and civil defence quickly swung into action to dispatch them.
“The police shot into the air and also used teargas to dispatch the protesters to put the situation under control”, the source said.
Meanwhile, the Kwara state government had on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, restated its policy and directed management of schools in the state to allow the use of Hijab and beret by willing students without forcing it on anyone or turning them back for using them.
Just on Wednesday, some Muslim parents and their wards were on some major streets of Ilorin, the state capital, to protest against the management of Oyun Baptist High school, for turning back some students for wearing hijab.
Also, a government delegation, led by Commissioner for Education, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, had visited the school on two different occasions to resolve the matter. Another delegation led by Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Architect Mohammed Saifudeen, had also visited the town for the same reason.
Meanwhile, the state government has condemned the resort to violence in the government-owned Oyun Baptist Secondary School, Ijagbo, on Thursday, saying that the development was totally unacceptable.
In a statement by the commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu said that the state government condemned “the flagrant act of discrimination against anyone, especially children, on religious grounds”, adding that such discrimination would not be tolerated in any public-owned institution in the state.
“While the government and the security agencies continue to work with leaders on all sides, it hereby directs the immediate shutdown of the school pending resolution of the issue.
“The government commends the security agencies for their prompt action that has restored calm in the area. The government calls on them to investigate and bring to book anyone linked to the violence as a deterrence to others.
“The government appeals for calm as violence brings nothing good”.
Also speaking on the development, the state commissioner of Police, Tuesday Assayomo, said that the command’s Tactical Units and conventional policemen had been deployed to Ijagbo to restore peace, “and are also on the ground to ensure that no further break down of law and order is allowed”.
The Police boss, in a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Okasanmi Ajayi, appealed to the warring parties to embrace peace and shun any act that could jeopardize the current peace in the area.
He also said that the Police have been directed to arrest anyone found in any way truncating the peace in the state, as such persons would be made to face the full wrath of the law”.
Credit; Tribune.
