There was a drama at an MTN registration outlet in Abuja, when a Muslim woman refused to remove her ‘hijab’ to complete her sim registration process.
A Yoruba-speaking Muslim woman covered with hijab refused security search.
On October 26, 20115, MTN was fined a record $5.2bn by Nigeria’s Communications Commission for having about 5 million unregistered sims. Therefore, the company started another round of sim cards registration to meet up with the deadline set by the NCC.
A police officer was instructed to check every customer before he gained access into the MTN registration outlet. However, a Yoruba-speaking Muslim woman covered with hijab refused security search and said that she would not unveil herself.
Narrating the incident to Daily Post, the policeman said:
“This woman is a suspect. How can you come to a public place dressed like this and you expect to gain access into an office that is not yours?
“No one knows what she has under her veil. She may be carrying a bomb, who knows?
“This is the reason why we insisted on searching her and she claimed she is a minister’s wife.”
The woman caused a stir among other customers who were standing in a queue.
Later, the woman finally gained the access into the office through the intervention of a front desk manager, who identified herself as Zainab.
Zainab said that the unidentified woman asked to register her in a private room because she could not remove her vail.
“I told her it is not in any way possible and after pleading, I asked her, “what if I want to take your photo during the registration?”
The supposed minister’s wife also refused and asked for the registration to be done without her snap shot. The woman explained that she needed permission from her husband to unveil her face for the registration process to be completed.
The woman finally gained the access into the office through the intervention of a front desk manager, who identified herself as Zainab.
When the woman came out to take permission from her husband, she caused a stir among other customers who were standing in a queue.
Speaking with journalists, Hajiya (as she was referred to) said that she was discontent and embarrassed.
“Can you imagine the embarrassment, an ordinary police woman stopping me from entering an office in my own country? I will show you,” she added.
“I want to do this registration thing and they say I must open my veil, which I cannot do because it is against my belief.
“I managed to gain access into the office after several embarrassments from these police guard. When I got in, the MTN officials said I needed to open up my face for a snap shot to complete my registration process which I had not even started.
“I just came out to take permission from my husband, whether or not I should unveil myself, before this police woman said if I go out, I won’t be allowed to go back into the office unless I am thoroughly searched,” she said.
When asked if she was a wife of one of the ministers, she said: “I’m sure you must have heard people say that here. People, who know me, have said it, so I cannot talk about that right now.”
Earlier this month, an ugly incident happened at Meran Area of Lagos, when unidentified soldiers harassed a Muslim woman by forcefully removing her veil.
According to an eyewitness, the woman was going peacefully when three soldiers stopped her and began to harass.
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