A teenage girl, Lawal Hameedat Adenike, has filed a lawsuit against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and a Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre, PEFTI, over an alleged violation of her religious rights during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The suit, instituted through her mother and legal representative, follows an incident on April 25 at the PEFTI CBT Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State, where Hameedat was reportedly instructed to remove her hijab before being allowed to sit for the examination.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, the teenager’s mother, Basirat Ojo, described the experience as humiliating and discriminatory.
“My daughter was told she could not write the exam unless she removed her hijab, which she wears for religious reasons.
This was a painful and humiliating experience for her. As her mother, I had to take action to protect her rights,” she said.
The suit seeks a public apology from both JAMB and PEFTI, to be published in two national newspapers.
It also demands monetary compensation and a judicial declaration that any policy requiring female candidates to remove their hijabs is unconstitutional.
Speaking on the legal merits of the case, the family’s counsel, Qousim Opakunle, said the action of the examination officials contravenes Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
“This demand violates Section 38 of the Nigerian Constitution. It is our duty to protect these fundamental rights, especially for minors who cannot defend themselves,” Opakunle stated.
Neither JAMB nor PEFTI has issued an official response to the legal action as of the time of filing this report.
This is not the first time JAMB has faced criticism over the treatment of hijab-wearing candidates.
In previous years, the examination body has been forced to sanction officials found guilty of such acts.
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