₦10 Billion Suit Hits JAMB Over 2025 UTME Failures as Lawyer Seeks Justice for Candidates

 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Federal Ministry of Education have been taken to court over what has been described as a catastrophic failure in the administration of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Human rights lawyer Evans Ufeli has filed a ₦10 billion fundamental rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos, challenging what he calls widespread technical glitches and systemic irregularities during the conduct of the examination.

Filed on behalf of several aggrieved candidates—many of whom are minors—along with their parents and other concerned stakeholders, the legal action is built on allegations of gross administrative lapses that reportedly marred the credibility and transparency of the UTME process this year. The applicants are seeking judicial intervention to declare the 2025 UTME null and void, citing violations of constitutional and child rights protections.

Acknowledgment of a systemic failure came from none other than JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who addressed the media during a press briefing on Wednesday. He conceded that what had initially appeared as mass failure among candidates was, in fact, the result of internal malfunctions within JAMB’s systems.

According to the suit, candidates were exposed to prolonged delays, malfunctioning computer systems, and chaotic examination environments that disrupted their focus and created psychological stress. The motion argues that these experiences were not only distressing for the young examinees but also compromised the fairness and integrity of the entire examination process.

The legal challenge draws its strength from several provisions of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended), particularly Sections 34, 35, 36, 39, 42, and 46, which protect individual rights to dignity, fair hearing, and freedom from discrimination. It also cites Articles 17, 19, and 20 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, alongside Section 15 of the Child Rights Act of 2003, which affirms every child’s right to education under safe and equitable conditions.

Evans Ufeli is not only seeking the nullification of the 2025 UTME results but also a court-ordered directive compelling JAMB to organize a fresh examination. This proposed re-examination, according to the suit, must be carried out under conditions that ensure fairness, transparency, and proper technical infrastructure to prevent a repeat of the 2025 fiasco.

The motion further accuses JAMB of withholding the results of numerous candidates without adequate explanation or a transparent redress mechanism, thereby placing the academic futures of these students in jeopardy. Ufeli asserts that such opacity in a national examination process violates the right to education and due process guaranteed under the law.

One of the suit’s most striking elements is the demand for ₦10 billion in general damages. This claim seeks compensation for the emotional trauma, loss of academic opportunities, and violation of fundamental rights suffered by candidates and their families. According to Ufeli, the damage inflicted goes beyond bad scores or technical faults—it strikes at the core of national confidence in an examination system designed to shape the educational trajectory of millions of Nigerian youths.

No hearing date has been scheduled yet for the case, but public interest is already mounting. Many parents, education stakeholders, and civil society groups have expressed outrage over the alleged mismanagement of the examination, while others are awaiting the court’s stance on whether an institution like JAMB can be held legally accountable for large-scale systemic failures.

The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications, not just for the future of UTME candidates, but for the governance and oversight of standardized testing in Nigeria’s educational system.