JAMB Denies Flouting Court Order, Says Candidate Account Freeze Meant To Preserve ‘Status Quo’

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dismissed claims that it disobeyed a court order by suspending the account of a post-UTME candidate.

A law firm had earlier dragged Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to court over alleged irregularities in their recent post-UTME exercises. The firm also petitioned the House of Representatives, demanding release of the withheld results of students accused of examination malpractice.

An education activist, Alex Onyia, had in an X post alleged that JAMB suspended the account of one of the affected candidates, Monsuroh Aliyah, describing the move as an act of “wickedness”.

He also accused OAU and UNILAG of appealing the matter at a Federal High Court in Enugu despite initially claiming they never received the court’s ex-parte motion.

But reacting yesterday, JAMB spokesman Fabian Benjamin confirmed the account suspension, insisting it was in obedience to the court directive to “maintain status quo”.

According to him, preserving the status quo means the candidate’s account must be placed on hold, and that the individual should not be treated as a student of either OAU or UNILAG pending court resolution.

He said the order also implies that “nothing should be done to the detriment or advantage of the candidate or the two institutions”.

Benjamin warned that there had been fraudulent attempts to force-fit the candidate into one of the universities, stressing that JAMB neither alters nor allows alteration of admission status under judicial restraint.

He blamed what he called “mischievous misrepresentation” on the default system message that appears on restricted accounts, adding that those sponsoring the narrative became frustrated after failing to tamper with the process.

JAMB concluded that the public was being fed with “deliberate misinformation aimed at exploiting gullible persons for personal gain and popularity.”