1.5m Failed UMTE Candidates’ Solicitors Threaten To Sue JAMB

Thousands of candidates who scored below 200 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have petitioned the registrar of the board over the high failure rate of the examination.

The candidates who petitioned the JAMB registrar through their solicitors, John C. Nwobodo and MC Agbo, said the results was not reflective of their effort presupposing that there might have been a possible glitch in the JAMB software potentially resulting in the mismatch between the questions and the answers.

They stated that the above scenario has cast a shadow of doubt over the integrity of the software deployed by the Board in administering and marking the questions.

The students are claiming that the system is programmed in a way that candidates are only able to view their scores against each subject and the aggregate thereof.

“Moreover, the development has put your board on the spotlight that the need for accountability at this point and going forward becomes imperative and non-negotiable.

“We are Solicitors to the 1,534,654 candidates who wrote the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination whose scores are below 200. They consist of 2,031 who scored below 100; 3,820 who scored between 100-119; 57,419 who scored between 120-139; 488,197 who scored between 140 and 159; and 983,187 who scored between 160-199. They shall hereafter be referred to as “Our Clients,” the petition which was copied to the Senate President, Minister of Education and Speaker of the House of Representatives, read in parts.

The lawyers therefore the Board to make full disclosure of the questions and the corresponding answers administered in respect of each candidate to enable self-evaluation.

The solicitors stated that their clients have instructed to inform the JAMB to undertake a comprehensive review of the marking of the questions administered to ascertain that the correct answers were fixed against the questions.

They further requested that the board should take notice that their clients have the instructed them to explore every legal avenue to seek justice for the aggrieved candidates.

The legal practitioners said they will be glad to cooperate with the Registrar on any measures that would help to clear any doubts in the minds of the candidates regarding their actual performance in the 2025 UTME.