Lawyer Demands JAMB To Disclose Top 10 UTME Candidates Of 2024
Chukwuma Nwachukwu, an Abuja-based lawyer, has invoked the Freedom of Information Act against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for withholding information regarding the top scorers in the recently released results of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a letter addressed to JAMB, Nwachukwu requested the names and scores of the top 10 candidates in the 2024 UTME within seven days, citing provisions of the FOI Act. He argued that JAMB’s decision to withhold this information contradicted its earlier disclosure of candidates’ performance breakdown on April 29.
Specifically addressing Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar General of JAMB, Nwachukwu emphasized the rights granted by the Freedom of Information Act, asserting that any person has the right to access information held by public institutions.
“The above application is made pursuant to the provisions of Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011…the right of any person to access or request information…which is in the possession of any public official, agency or institution,” parts of the letter read.
Nwachukwu highlighted that applicants under the FOI Act need not demonstrate specific interest in the information requested, indicating that compliance with the Act is mandatory for public institutions.
“Take notice that the aforesaid law further provides that I should receive the information applied for within 7 days,” Nwachukwu added.
He further noted statistics released by JAMB, revealing that a large proportion of candidates scored below 200 in the UTME, with results of 64,624 candidates withheld for further investigation.
“The Board is today releasing the results of 1,842,464 candidates. 64,624 results are under investigation…,” Prof. Oloyede stated while announcing the release of the results.
