A group of under-16 students has petitioned prominent lawyer, Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins, Principal Partner at Aikpokpo, Okeregha & Co., urging him to take further legal action against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for allegedly disobeying a court ruling on its age restriction policy.
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In a letter dated August 30, 2025, and signed by a student identifying as “A Concerned Student” on behalf of the affected candidates, the petitioners expressed frustration over JAMB’s continued enforcement of the policy, which bars candidates under the age of 16 from gaining admission into Nigerian universities.
The letter thanked Aikpokpo-Martins for his earlier legal challenge against JAMB’s regulation, which gave hope to thousands of students across the country. However, the students lamented that despite the court’s judgment, the Board has refused to comply.
“Despite the earlier ruling, JAMB has continued to enforce this age restriction in clear disobedience to the judgment of the court. This, I humbly submit, amounts to contempt of court,” the letter stated.
The petitioners described the policy as discriminatory, pointing out that many of them would turn 16 before the year ends, yet are still barred from admission while peers born just weeks earlier are allowed entry.
“This discriminatory enforcement has put our future in jeopardy, and with universities already preparing to resume, time is running out,” the students wrote.
Appealing directly to Aikpokpo-Martins, they urged him to initiate committal proceedings against JAMB for contempt or to pursue further legal remedies to enforce the judgment. They also called for public advocacy to ensure that the rights of young Nigerians to education and equal opportunity are protected.
“No institution is above the rule of law. Please, sir, we ask for justice. We plead with you not to allow our dreams to be destroyed by what seems to be deliberate disobedience to the courts,” the letter concluded.
TheNigeriaLawyer recalled that legal practitioner, John Aikpokpo-Martins, had issued a stern warning to JAMB over its plan to conduct a special screening for underage candidates seeking admission for the 2025/2026 academic session.
In a letter addressed to JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and copied to the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Asaba, Aikpokpo-Martins cautioned that any attempt to carry out the exercise scheduled for September 22–26, 2025, would amount to interference with a pending appeal at the Court of Appeal (Appeal No. CA/AS/246/2025).
He reminded JAMB that the Delta State High Court, in its judgment of February 27, 2025, had perpetually restrained the board from denying admission solely on the basis of age, stressing that the pending appeal did not empower JAMB to alter the status quo.
Describing the proposed screening as a “smokescreen” to circumvent the court’s order, Aikpokpo-Martins warned that failure to comply could result in an application to set aside the exercise and possibly commit the Registrar for willful disobedience of court orders.
He concluded: “This sort of brazen disregard for the sanctity of judicial process and interference with the subject matter of a pending case by a very high public officer is terribly appalling and a threat to the rule of law. Sir, you have been put on notice.”
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