A Delta State High Court in Warri has issued an interim order stopping the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from enforcing its policy requiring students to be at least 16 years old for university admission. The restriction will remain paused until the court rules on the motion filed against the board.
JAMB had announced on October 16 that only candidates who will be 16 by August 2025 would qualify for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
This announcement aligned with a new policy from the Ministry of Education establishing 18 as the minimum age for university admission, though JAMB offered an exception for the 2024/2025 academic session.
The new policy faced opposition from John Aikpokpo-Martins, a former Nigerian Bar Association chairman from Warri, who brought the matter to court on behalf of candidates born between September 1 and December 31, 2009. His case, identified as W/311/FHR/2021, named JAMB and Edwin Clark University as respondents.
In his ruling on Thursday, Justice Anthony Akpovi upheld all reliefs sought by Aikpokpo-Martins.
The court restrained JAMB from acting on its October 16 directive, as outlined in a circular signed by Mohammed A. Babaji. The applicant also obtained a court order protecting the admission status of Angel Aikpokpo Martins, prohibiting JAMB and Edwin Clark University from interfering with her admission or access to educational facilities.
Justice Akpovi emphasized, “Reliefs 1 and 2 are hereby granted to preserve and protect the rights of all Nigerian children born between September 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, who wrote and passed JAMB exams in 2024. The circular issued on October 16, 2024, is hereby placed on hold, and the status quo of admissions prior to this policy is to be maintained.”
The court additionally approved substituted service of court documents and granted an accelerated hearing to resolve the issue promptly.
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