Though Nigeria is regarded as a secular state, there are two major religions which are predominantly practiced. Religious sentiments have permeated the societal space in Nigeria and often times the ardent practice and observance of religious tenets lead to perennial conflicts with governmental policies. It is one of the fundamental precepts of human rights that the religious belief of individuals should be respected, therefore the provision for the protection of right to religion in the national laws and some international instruments. The education system requires specific dress codes which must be observed. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the right to practice religion in Nigeria and the obvious conflicts between this practice and policies in the Nigerian education system particularly at primary and post-primary school levels. The paper addresses the scope of the right to practice one’s religion under the law vis-à-vis governmental policies in educational institutions.

尽管尼日利亚被视为一个世俗国家，但主要信奉两种主要宗教。宗教情绪已经渗透到尼日利亚的社会空间中，而且常常因为对宗教信条的热切实践和遵守导致与政府政策的长期冲突。尊重个人的宗教信仰是人权的基本戒律之一，因此在国家法律和一些国际文书中规定了对宗教权利的保护。教育系统要求必须遵守特定的着装规范。正是在这种背景下，本文考察了尼日利亚的宗教信仰权利以及这种做法与尼日利亚教育系统中的政策之间的明显冲突，尤其是在小学和中学后教育阶段。该文件讨论了法律规定的宗教信仰权利的范围，以及教育机构中的政府政策。