Delta Court Moves to Jail JAMB Registrar Over Disobedience of Landmark Admission Ruling
The Delta State High Court sitting in Warri has summoned the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, to appear before it and explain why he should not be jailed for contempt of court.
The order comes following an application by rights activist and lawyer, John Aikpokpo-Martins, acting in the public interest on behalf of candidates born between September 1 and December 31, 2009, who passed the 2024 UTME but were denied admission due to not meeting JAMB’s 16-year age requirement.
In Suit No. W/311/FHR/2024, Aikpokpo-Martins had secured a landmark judgment on February 27, 2025, declaring JAMB’s minimum age policy unconstitutional, discriminatory, and invalid. The court ordered JAMB to issue admission letters to all affected candidates who had been accepted by their respective universities, having met all other entry requirements.
Despite the judgment, JAMB allegedly refused to comply, prompting the initiation of contempt proceedings through Form 48 and Form 49—formal court notices warning individuals of possible imprisonment for disobeying a court order.
The institutions cited alongside JAMB include Edwin Clark University, Delta State University, University of Delta, and Admiralty University.
Speaking on Tuesday, Aikpokpo-Martins said:
“JAMB has refused to obey the judgment of the court. It even withheld the UTME results of the affected candidates and later released them with a disclaimer that they wouldn’t be valid for admission. This is a direct affront to the authority of the judiciary.”
The contempt hearing is scheduled for June 27, 2025, before the Delta State High Court in Warri.
Should the court find Prof. Oloyede in contempt, he could face imprisonment or other penalties for disobeying lawful judicial orders.
