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By John Ogunsemore
Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has demanded an investigation into allegations that a school in Abuja blocked a female candidate from writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for wearing a hijab.
Gumi made the call in a Facebook post on Saturday following the circulation on social media of a video that captured the incident.
In the video shared by Northern Magazine, security personnel at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Computer-Based Testing (CBT) centre located within the unnamed school could be seen appearing to turn away a hijab-wearing female candidate during security checks while admitting other candidates not wearing one.
Gumi said such behaviour should not be tolerated.
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He said, “A school in Abuja prevented a Hijabi from entry in the JAMB hall, as reported.
“This needs to be investigated and the centre punished. What kind of bigotry is in our country? This should never be tolerated.”
SunOnline reports that a similar incident was reported at the Esther Oshikoya CBT Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Thursday.
Reacting to the incident in a statement signed by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB blamed it on “overzealous” ad hoc staff and emphasised that the action was not part of its official procedures.
The examination body said it directed that no candidate wearing a hijab should be asked to remove or alter it.
