Nigerian girls have the right to wear the hijab headscarf to school, an appeals court has ruled in Nigeria, reporter France 24.

The ruling by the Lagos division of Nigeria's Court of Appeal "has restored hope in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man," said the director of the Muslim Rights Concern group, Ishaq Akintola.

The unanimous decision, overturning a 2013 ruling that banned hijabs in Lagos government schools, has added authority since three of the five judges are not Muslim, Akintola said.