Felicia Udeji Reporting
Lagos, Nigeria
The incident which took place at Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, saw the JAMB official ordering the Muslim candidate donning hijab to remove her head cover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.
The development has sparked a lot of controversies, as some adherents of a particular religious faith rose against the action.
Reacting to the incident, The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has sanctioned the said official (name withheld) for the action after carrying out investigations.
Reacting to the development in a statement yesterday, the board, which said such action was not in line with its rules, explained that the official was sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others who might wish to toe the same line.
In the statement, tagged “Re: Lagos Centre Stops Hijab-wearing Candidates”, through its spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB expressed regret at the incident.
The statement read: “The attention of the Board was drawn to an unfortunate incident at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, where it was reported by Muslim News of Sunday, April 21, 2024, and other platforms, that a candidate donning hijab was asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.
“The Board deeply regretted the incident and on investigation discovered that this particular incident or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the Board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation, which ensures that all candidates are screened, allowing only female officials to screen female candidates before allowing them to gain entrance into the hall.
“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others, who might wish to toe the same line, going forward.”