The Delta State High Court in Warri has issued a restraining order against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), preventing the implementation of its new policy that mandates a minimum age of 16 for university admissions.
This ruling comes as a response to a motion filed by John Aikpokpo-Martins on behalf of candidates born between September 1 and December 31, 2009, who passed the JAMB exams in 2024.
On October 16, JAMB announced that only candidates who turn 16 by August 2025 would be eligible for admission into tertiary institutions, aligning with a broader government policy that sets the minimum admission age at 18 years.
However, JAMB made an exception for the upcoming 2024/2025 academic session.
Dissatisfied with this directive, Aikpokpo-Martins took legal action against JAMB and Edwin Clark University, listed as the first and second respondents in the case marked W/311/FHR/2021.
The court's ruling, delivered by Justice Anthony Akpovi on Thursday, granted all requests made by the applicant, including an interim injunction to maintain the status quo regarding admissions prior to the October 16 circular.
Justice Akpovi emphasized that the rights of all Nigerian children born within the specified dates who successfully completed their JAMB exams must be preserved.
