Human rights lawyer, Evans Ufeli has filed a N10 billion
lawsuit against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, and the
Minister of Education, citing widespread irregularities and technical failures
that compromised the integrity of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation
Examination, UTME.
Meanwhile, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, acknowledged
during a press conference on Wednesday that the initially reported mass
failures were the result of a systemic failure.
The suit, filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, is being
brought on behalf of aggrieved UTME candidates, many of whom are minors as well
as their parents and other stakeholders.
Ufeli is asking the court to declare the actions and
omissions of JAMB in the conduct of the 2025 UTME as a gross violation of the
fundamental rights of the candidates.
Relying on Sections 34, 35, 36, 39, 42, and 46 of the 1999
Constitution (as amended), as well as Articles 17, 19, and 20 of the African
Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and key provisions of the Child Rights
Act, 2003, the suit seeks several declarations and court orders, including the
nullification of the entire 2025 UTME.
In the originating motion, the applicants contend that the
examination was plagued by technical failures, poor organization, and
significant delays.
These issues, they argue, not only caused emotional distress
to thousands of candidates, many of whom are minors, but also undermined the
credibility and integrity of the examination results.
The motion further claims that the failures of JAMB and the
Ministry of Education jeopardized the rights of children to education under
Section 15 of the Child Rights Act.
“The failure to provide a safe, timely and fair examination
process amounts to a breach of the rights of the candidates under the
Constitution and the Child Rights Act,” the suit reads. “The entire exercise
was conducted in a manner that endangered the physical and mental safety of
children and is therefore unconstitutional.”
The lawsuit also claims that JAMB has either refused or
failed to release the results of numerous candidates, further deepening their
distress and placing their academic futures in uncertainty.
Among the reliefs being sought is a court declaration
nullifying the 2025 UTME results, an order for a fresh examination to be
conducted under fair and transparent conditions, and a perpetual injunction
preventing JAMB and the Ministry of Education from using the disputed results
for any academic or admission-related processes.
Significantly, the applicants are also demanding N10 billion
in general damages, citing “psychological trauma, loss of opportunity, and the
violation of fundamental rights” experienced by the affected candidates and
their families.
As of now, no date has been set for the hearing of the case.
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