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UTME 2025: Firm Challenges JAMB Over ‘Selective UTME Resit’ Decision — Fair or Flawed?

Candidates in Kano, Kebbi, and Sokoto states reportedly had similar “even more severe technical issues,” according to the law firm.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has come under fire from the Kano-based legal firm A.A. Hikima & Co. for its discriminatory choice to postpone the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) exclusively for applicants from Lagos and the Southeast.

After discovering that a problem had impacted the computer-based test (CBT) centers, JAMB stated on Wednesday that 379,997 students would retake their UTME in 157 locations in Lagos and the Southeast, leading to poor marks for the candidates.

However, the law firm claimed to have heard from candidates in the states of Kano, Kebbi, and Sokoto about comparable “even more severe technical issues.”

The firm highlighted the technological difficulties that hindered applicants from finishing their tests, including missing or incomplete questions, system crashes, and other issues, in a Freedom of Information (FOI) letter that was signed by Abba Hikima, the firm’s principal partner, and sent to JAMB.

Additionally, it stated that there were instances in which applicants were asked fewer questions than usual.

In light of this fact, the letter partially states, “JAMB’s decision to limit the retake opportunity to particular regions, without providing equal redress to affected candidates in the north, is deeply concerning and potentially discriminatory.”

Requests

Under the FOI law, the company is asking for the following: the names and reports of ICT vendors assigned to each region; official complaints or petitions from affected northern states; the minutes of meetings where the resit decision was made; technical audits or internal reports on the conduct of the 2025 UTME; and the methods by which JAMB chose the centers for the rescheduled UTME.

The firm requested that the material be released within seven days, as required by the FOI Act, and stated that the request is made in the public interest.

How JAMB chose retest locations

A bug that impacted portions of JAMB’s “LAG vehicle” was discovered during an assessment of the UTME results conducted by JAMB and other stakeholders on Monday and Tuesday.

For operational efficiency, JAMB clarified that it divided its activities into “KAD vehicle” and “LAG vehicle.”

KAD vehicle comprises all South-South states and most Northern states, excluding Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Kogi, and Abuja.

All of the southwest and southeast states are included in the LAG vehicle, along with Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Niger, Kogi, and Abuja.
The problem affected two sites, the Lagos zone and the Owerri zone, and caused mistakes in the candidates’ results, according to JAMB Registrar Is-haq Oloyede.

Professor Mr. Oloyede stated, “To put it plainly, the technical staff assigned by the service provider for LAG (Lagos and Southeast zones) unintentionally neglected to update some of the delivery servers while resolving the issue.”

In response, the board rescheduled the UTME for 379,997 applicants in the Southeast and Lagos, spread across 157 centers.

173,387 applicants were impacted in 92 centers throughout the states of Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu, compared to 206,610 candidates in the 65 centers in the Lagos zone.