Oyo High Court Rules JAMB Cannot Force Female UTME Candidates to Remove Hijab

The Oyo State High Court has ruled that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) cannot compel Muslim female candidates to remove their hijab before sitting the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), declaring the practice unconstitutional, illegal, null, and void.

The judgment resolves a long-standing dispute over the rights of Muslim female candidates, affirming that wearing a hijab for religious purposes cannot be made a condition for participating in the UTME.

Justice Y. S. Adekunle delivered the ruling on July 20, 2026, in Suit No. I/560/2025, in favour of Lawal Hameedat Adenike Olamide, a minor who filed the suit through her mother, Mrs. Basirat Ojo-Oba.

The claimant alleged that she was denied the opportunity to write the UTME on April 25, 2025, at a Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre operated by PEFTI Film Institute Ltd unless she removed her hijab.

The court held both JAMB and PEFTI Film Institute Ltd jointly liable for violating the claimant's fundamental rights.

Justice Adekunle declared that any policy requiring female candidates to remove their hijab before writing JAMB examinations is inconsistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"Any rules made by the Defendants making removal of hijab used for religious purposes by any female candidate of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Examination is illegal, null, void and a contradiction to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria," the judge ruled.

The claimant had argued that the policy infringed on her constitutional right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under Section 38 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The court agreed, ruling that forcing her to remove her hijab as a precondition for taking the examination amounted to a violation of her fundamental human rights.

As part of its judgment, the court ordered JAMB and PEFTI Film Institute Ltd to issue separate letters of apology to the claimant and publish the apologies in two national newspapers within seven days.

The court also awarded ?10 million in damages against both defendants, jointly and severally, as compensation for the violation of the claimant's rights, in addition to ?500,000 as the cost of the suit.

Justice Adekunle explained that although judgment had originally been scheduled for July 14, 2026, it was postponed to allow the court to consider a Court of Appeal ruling delivered on July 3, 2026, involving a similar legal issue before reaching its final decision.

The judgment was eventually delivered on July 20, 2026, during the court's annual vacation, with the consent of counsel representing the parties. The claimant was represented by Muazatulu Ibrahim and Ishaq Gbadegesin, while Mrs. E. A. Oladapo appeared for JAMB. PEFTI Film Institute Ltd was not represented during the proceedings.