The Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide in Kwara State have rejected the order by the state government on the use of Hijab by female students at the Cherubim and Seraphim College, llorin.

The Chairman and Spiritual Father of the church, Most Reverend Samuel Abidoye, made the church’s position known to reporters in Ilorin on Sunday.

According to Mr. Abidoye, the movement is against the use of the Islamic dress code, stating that the church retains the responsibility for the appointment of the management of the institution including approved dresses for students.

The Secretary of Ilorin District headquarters of the movement, Samson Ibidoja, also stressed that the maintenance of the school has been the sole responsibility of the church.

He said that the Cherubim and Seraphim College at Sabo-oke in llorin owned by the Seraphim Church Worldwide was established in 1969 to take care of the educational development of children.

The church, therefore, advised the government to revisit its decision on the matter to forestall unnecessary trespass capable of leading to the breakdown of law and order in any part of the state.

Reacting to the church’s position, the Chairman of Muslim Stakeholders in Kwara, Prof. Hamzat AbdulRaheem, said that the state government’s decision on the use of hijab by female students in all schools must be respected to allow peace to continue to reign in the state.

“What the Christian brothers and sisters are carrying to the whole world is false. There are many Christian private schools in the state that Muslims can’t enforce the use of hijab, but that of public schools is different,” he said.

He said the Cherubim and Seraphim College, like some schools established by some Muslim organisations, are not owned solely by the Missions that established them and could not dictate how the schools must be administered.

Mr. AbdulRaheem, however, advised the Cherubim and Seraphim Church to either abide by the state government’s decision on the use of hijab by female students or request for the taking over of the school with the sharing of its assets and liabilities.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), 10 Christian schools were closed down by the state government over the prohibition of the use of hijab by female students in those schools.