NBA demands sanctions for WAEC and JAMB officials over 2025 exam disruptions

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called on members of the National Assembly to hold accountable those responsible for the unfortunate incidents concerning the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

LIB had earlier reported that the results from the 2025 UTME released on May 9 were widely protested by many students who insisted they scored more than the computed results released by the board. JAMB registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, on April  14, addressed a press conference in which he admitted to ‘’technical errors” in the results of 379,997 candidates across 157 centres in the Lagos and south-east zones.

He said the board discovered discrepancies linked to faulty server updates, which led to the failure to upload candidates’ responses during the first three days of the examination.

JAMB later rescheduled the exams for the affected candidates, giving only 48 hours’ notice from the time it announced the technical glitch.

On its part, WAEC incurred the wrath of many Nigerians after its candidates faced hours-long delays before writing the English Language paper on Wednesday, May 28. At multiple locations, the test, scheduled at 9am, did not commence until about 7pm and in some cases, 11:45pm. The disruption triggered anger among parents and sparked an online backlash.

The examination board later released a statement saying that the delay was due to the leakage of the examination question paper.

In a statement released by the NBA on Saturday, May 31 and signed by its President, Afam Osigwe and Secretary, Mobolaji Ojibara, the association said the officials responsible for the incidents should be held accountable.

“It is very concerning that a new trend of impunity is now emerging from institutions that ought to be leading the way for a better Nigeria,” the statement reads.

The right to education is a constitutional right, and more importantly, the right to treat Nigerian students with dignity and respect is a guaranteed fundamental right every student owns by being a Nigerian.

The conduct of examinations under shambolic and inclement conditions is unacceptable as it will affect the students’ preparation for the examinations.

No sane human being should be compelled to sit for an examination that was advertised to be conducted in the daytime but ended up being done in the night, well outside the time published by the examination body.

WAEC did not advertise that its examinations will be conducted in the night in halls where there would be no adequate facilities like power and security. The students never contracted with WAEC to sit for examinations in the night.

Any examination conducted under such circumstance is already compromised and amounts to a breach of the students’ contractual rights and sections 34 and 39 of the constitution guaranteeing their right to respect for the dignity of their persons and freedom to receive knowledge, ideas and information.”

The NBA said public officials must be held accountable for every dereliction of duty. The association said JAMB and WAEC have “failed” to discharge their responsibilities, adding that the incidents have further demarketed the country.

The NBA asked the Senate and House of Representatives to set up a joint committee to investigate the “unfortunate incidents” and ensure those responsible face the consequences of their actions, stressing that the absence of consequences will “lead to a reoccurrence that may be worse.”