A fresh legal battle has emerged following the controversy that trailed the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), as a human rights lawyer, Evans Ufeli, has slammed a N10 billion suit against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.
In a statement released on Thursday, Ufeli alleged that both JAMB and the education ministry violated the rights of minors during the just-concluded UTME exercise, citing what he described as “psychological trauma, loss of opportunity, and the breach of fundamental rights” suffered by the affected candidates and their families.
According to a report by Vanguard, the suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos and represents a group of aggrieved candidates — most of them minors — along with their parents and concerned stakeholders.
In his petition to the court, Ufeli demanded a declaration that the actions and omissions of JAMB during the 2025 UTME amounted to a serious breach of candidates’ rights. He described the conduct of the exam as flawed, with claims of technical issues, poor management, and unnecessary delays, all of which, he argued, endangered the “physical and mental safety of children and is therefore unconstitutional.”
The legal documents further noted: “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.”
In addition to calling for the nullification of the entire 2025 UTME, the lawyer sought a court order for a fresh examination to be conducted under transparent and reliable conditions. He also asked for a perpetual injunction to prevent JAMB and the Ministry of Education from using the disputed results for admissions or any other academic decision-making.
The lawsuit equally emphasized that the examination crisis denied children their right to education as enshrined in Section 15 of the Child Rights Act, while also undermining the integrity of the exam results.
The controversy surrounding this year’s UTME had earlier prompted calls for a complete cancellation. Several affected candidates urged JAMB to annul the exercise after the board admitted that technical issues and errors had impacted candidate performances.
In response to the backlash, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, publicly apologized to candidates and their families for the mishaps, acknowledging the errors and hinting at the possibility of retake exams for those affected.
