Delta Court Halts JAMB’s New Age Policy for University Admissions Pending Hearing

The Delta State High Court in Warri has issued an order preventing the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) from enforcing its recent policy requiring a minimum age of 16 for university admissions in Nigeria. This order will remain in place until a hearing on the motion filed against JAMB takes place.

On October 16, JAMB announced that only candidates who would be 16 years old by August 2025 would be eligible for admission to tertiary institutions. This policy follows a new directive from the Ministry of Education, setting 18 years as the minimum age for university admission, though JAMB has allowed an exception for students applying for the 2024/2025 session.

Dissatisfied with this directive, John Aikpokpo-Martins, former Nigerian Bar Association chairman, Warri branch, took legal action against JAMB. Representing candidates born between September 1 and December 31, 2009, who passed JAMB exams in 2024, Aikpokpo-Martins filed a suit against JAMB and Edwin Clark University as the 1st and 2nd respondents.

On Thursday, Justice Anthony Akpovi granted all the applicant’s requests, according to a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the ruling. Aikpokpo-Martins had sought an order to restrain JAMB and Edwin Clark University from acting on the October 16 circular enforcing the age limit until the court hearing. He also requested an interim injunction preventing the university from revoking admission or restricting access to educational facilities for Angel Aikpokpo-Martins, pending the outcome of the case.

Justice Akpovi ruled in favor of maintaining the previous admission list, effectively suspending JAMB’s new age policy until the hearing. He also approved substituted service by courier and granted an accelerated hearing.