Africa-Press – Nigeria. 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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