Court Orders OAU, UNILAG to Suspend Admission Over Post-UTME Dispute

A Federal High Court sitting in Enugu has ordered Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, and the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, to suspend their ongoing admission processes for the 2025/2026 academic session.

Justice Mabel Segun-Bello gave the order on Tuesday while ruling on a motion ex parte filed by five candidates who sat for the Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) conducted by the institutions. The petitioners – Chibuzor Succes, Zainab Oyeleye, Adedeji Samuel, Monsura Aduragbemi, and Bassey Nsikak – filed the suit through F.K. Nnadi & Co., an Enugu-based law firm, on behalf of themselves and other affected candidates.

Also joined in the suit is the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which manages the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) used by universities to process admissions.

The petitioners asked the court to restrain the universities from releasing or uploading any admission lists pending the determination of their substantive suit. They also sought an order directing JAMB not to process any admission list submitted by the two universities until the case is resolved.

Justice Segun-Bello, after reviewing the four prayers of the applicants, directed all parties to maintain the status quoregarding the admission process until the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. She further ordered the petitioners to notify the respondents – OAU, UNILAG, and JAMB – of the case.

The dispute stems from allegations of irregularities in the Post-UTME exercises of both universities. Last month, F.K. Nnadi & Co. had issued pre-action notices accusing the institutions of awarding unjustifiably low scores, withholding results, and failing to provide access to candidates’ scripts. They also demanded that students flagged for malpractice be given fair hearings before being penalised.

While UNILAG denied withholding results, it admitted that a number of candidates were disqualified for examination malpractice based on video surveillance and other monitoring tools. The institution insisted that the exercise followed due process. OAU has yet to release its official response, with its spokesperson, Abiodun Olarewaju, stating that the ruling would be studied after the public holiday.

Education analysts, including Educare CEO Alex Onyia, have also raised concerns, alleging that hundreds of candidates may have been wrongly penalised due to a technical glitch in the web testing system.

The case is expected to return to court in the coming weeks for a full hearing.