Mission schools offer worship spaces for other faiths – Peace Council
Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev. Emmanuel Fianu, has clarified that second-cycle mission schools provide worship spaces for students of different faiths, not only Christians.
Speaking in an interview on November 30, 2025, he explained that this directive is part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed earlier in the year by various religious groups to guide the management of religious diversity in mission schools.
“It is already being implemented in some schools, even if not in all. Schools provide places of worship for students of other faiths, and they are allowed to practise,” he said.
The National Peace Council signed the MoU with 13 faith-based organisations on April 15, 2025.
The agreement aims to create clear guidelines for both government and private mission schools to promote safe learning environments, prevent religious discrimination, strengthen social cohesion, and enhance national peace.
Despite the MoU, a private legal practitioner has filed a suit at the Supreme Court alleging that Wesley Girls’ Senior High School restricts Muslim students from practising their faith.
On November 25, the Supreme Court ordered the school to respond within 14 days to the allegations and to clarify its religious policies.
Most Rev. Fianu noted that sensitisation and education on the MoU are ongoing for heads of mission and private schools to ensure they fully understand and implement the agreed guidelines.
“We are introducing this MoU to the management of all mission and private schools. The education is ongoing so that any school not complying will understand what the owners and the National Peace Council have agreed on,” he said.
He stressed that issues of religious diversity in mission schools should be resolved through dialogue rather than litigation.
“With the collaborative work done by the National Peace Council, Christians, and Muslims, we must use dialogue, not the courts to resolve these concerns,” he emphasised.
According to him, the matter was effectively addressed when the MoU was signed in April 2025, and he sees no justification for the ongoing lawsuit.
“I don’t see the problem still existing because it has already been resolved. So, I don’t see why this case should still be in court,” he added.