An Oyo State High Court has ruled that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) cannot force female candidates to remove their hijabs before sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The court declared that any rule requiring Muslim female candidates to remove their hijab before taking the exam is unconstitutional, illegal, and has no legal effect.
The judgment followed a lawsuit filed by a minor, Lawal Hameedat Adenike Olamide, through her mother, Mrs. Basirat Ojo-Oba. She claimed she was stopped from writing the UTME on April 25, 2025, unless she removed her hijab at a computer-based test (CBT) centre operated by PEFTI Film Institute Ltd.
In the ruling, Justice Y. S. Adekunle said forcing a candidate to remove her hijab as a condition for taking the examination violates the constitutional right to freedom of religion as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.
The judge also ruled that both JAMB and PEFTI Film Institute Ltd were responsible for violating the student’s fundamental rights.
The court ordered the two defendants to issue separate apology letters to the claimant and publish the apologies in two national newspapers within seven days of the judgment.
In addition, the court awarded the claimant ₦10 million in damages and ₦500,000 to cover the cost of the legal action.
Justice Adekunle explained that the judgment was delayed to allow the court to consider a recent Court of Appeal decision on a similar case before delivering the final ruling.
The judgment is expected to have a significant impact on how examination authorities handle religious dress during future UTME examinations.
