The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for an immediate suspension of examinations at all campuses of the Nigerian Law School after alleging that female Muslim candidates wearing hijab were harassed, intimidated and excluded from exam halls during the final bar examinations held on Saturday, 31 October 2026. The organisation warned that, should its demands not be met, it will mobilise parents, Muslim youths and other stakeholders for peaceful protests across law school sites nationwide.
MURIC said the incidents unfolded in several law school centres across the country, where candidates were reportedly made to stand outside the examination rooms for roughly an hour before being allowed entry only after removing their headscarves. The group received a flood of telephone calls, text messages and online chats from distressed candidates, their families and concerned Muslims during the ordeal.
"There was harassment and intimidation of hijab‑wearing female Muslim students in some Law School examination halls across the country yesterday, Saturday, October 31, 2026," said Professor Ishaq Akintola, founder and executive director of MURIC. "Hijabites who came hoping to sit for their call‑to‑bar final examinations were disallowed from entering the examination halls. In some places, they were forced to remain standing outside for about one hour until they removed their hijabs before they were allowed to enter and start the examination."
The organisation’s statement, released on Sunday, also demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged mistreatment. It noted that the law school had not responded to the accusations at the time of writing. MURIC highlighted that its office was inundated with calls and messages, hearing the “cries of traumatised candidates, the lamentations of distressed parents hundreds of kilometres away from the examination centres and the agitation of concerned Muslims around the country.”
In condemning the reported actions, MURIC invoked several provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. It cited Sections 38(1) and (2), which guarantee freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to manifest religious beliefs, and Section 42, which prohibits discrimination. The group also referenced Section 34(1)(a), which protects human dignity and bans torture or inhuman treatment, arguing that forcing candidates to remove their hijabs amounted to a clear violation of that clause.
The statement further pointed to the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Lagos State Government & Ors v. Asiyat Abdulkareem, which affirmed that any ban or restriction on the hijab constitutes discrimination. MURIC argued that the alleged conduct at the law school not only breached constitutional guarantees but also ran counter to established judicial precedent.
If the law school does not act on MURIC’s demands, the organisation pledged to organise peaceful demonstrations involving parents, students and other stakeholders across all law school campuses, emphasizing that the issue concerns both educational rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Nigerian Law School has not issued a comment on the allegations, and the situation remains under close watch by civil society groups and human‑rights advocates.