Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has refuted claims that it disobeyed a court order by suspending a candidate’s account.
Gatekeepers News reports that the controversy began after a law firm filed a suit against Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) over alleged irregularities in their post-UTME examinations.
The firm also called on the House of Representatives to intervene and compel the universities to release the results of students accused of examination malpractices.
Meanwhile, education activist Alex Onyia claimed he received over 1,000 reports from candidates who allegedly experienced technical glitches during their post-UTME exams. He also alleged that OAU’s ICT director said some students were “intentionally marked down.”
In an X post, Onyia alleged that JAMB had suspended the account of one candidate, Monsuroh Aliyah, describing the development as “wickedness.” He wrote, “JAMB has suspended the accounts of the students that we raised petition with against UNILAG and OAU.”
“The same OAU and UNILAG who claimed to not have received the MOTION EX-PARTE have gone to Enugu State Federal High Court to appeal. This is wickedness!”
Responding, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin confirmed the suspension but clarified that it was carried out in compliance with a court order to “maintain status quo.”
He explained that maintaining the status quo means the candidate’s account would remain inactive, as the candidate was no longer a candidate of any of OAU or UNILAG.
Benjamin added that the order implies that nothing should be done either to the detriment or advantage of the candidate and or the two institutions.
JAMB further revealed that there had been fraudulent attempts by some individuals to fix the candidate into one of the two universities,” adding that the board does not alter nor allow any alteration either by the candidate or any of the two institutions.
The examination body said that the suspension claim is being mischievously misrepresented due to the default message that appears on any restricted account.
According to the board, those sponsoring the candidate became frustrated after their attempts to manipulate the process failed.
JAMB concluded by describing the issue as a deliberate misinformation being promoted with the intent of exploiting gullible persons for personal gains and popularity.
