.1 killed, 4 persons injured
At least, one person was feared killed with four others injured, on Thursday, as a protest between Christian and Muslim parents of students of the Oyun Baptist High School in Ijagbo, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara State, on the use of hijab, became violent.
Report has it that the situation became tense as the management of Oyun Baptist High School, on January 17, announced that Muslim students should stop wearing hijab to the school.
The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo Kawu, condemned the incident and appealed for calm.
She warned that violence was unacceptable in the state.
Report has it that the enraged parents, both Muslims and Christians, whose children attend the school took to the street in the morning.
They were said to have displayed placards to express their positions at the gate of the school, but the protest later turned violent as some hoodlums hijacked the situation and freely used dangerous weapons, leading to the death of one person.
The victim was reportedly shot in the head with four others sustaining severe injuries.
It took the intervention of the anti riot mobile police team drafted to restore peace in the school to end the protest.
A source was quoted as saying that “The person that sustained gun shot in the head had been reported dead. It was a peaceful protest before it was hijacked by sympathisers and hoodlums.“
The Police Public Relations Officer in the Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, said in a statement that normalcy had been restored in the area.
The statement warned the residents of Ijagbo to embrace the peace, stressing, “The Kwara State Police Command wishes to inform the general public, especially residents of Ijagbo community and its environs, that the Command’s Tactical units and conventional police men deployed to Ijagbo have successfully restored peace and are also on ground to ensure that no further breakdown of law and order is allowed.
“The above action is sequel to the crisis related to the wearing of hijab in schools which matter has been in contention between the Christian and Muslim faithful in Kwara State. Of current concern was the breakdown of law and other between Ijagbo community and protesting Muslim parents, where dangerous weapons were freely used.”
