Chinaemere Opara, a 15-year-old Senior Secondary School student, has taken legal action against the Federal Ministry of Education, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the National Universities Commission (NUC) over a newly introduced admission policy.
Opara, through his guardian and father, Mr. Maxwell Opara, a lawyer, filed the lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1512/2024, was filed on October 14, following a motion submitted on September 30 by Opara’s legal representative, Wayne Elijah.
The Federal Ministry of Education, JAMB, and NUC are listed as the 1st to 3rd respondents, respectively.
The student is challenging the admission policy, claiming that it imposes a discriminatory and unconstitutional age restriction on Nigerian citizens seeking admission to universities.
In his six reliefs, Opara seeks a court declaration stating that the policy violates his right to freedom of expression, as guaranteed under Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and several articles of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Opara also argues that the policy infringes on his right to peaceful assembly and association, asserting that his age should not be a factor in determining when he can take exams like the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and JAMB.8Furthermore, Opara is requesting the court to declare that the policy violates his right to equal access to public services, as outlined in Article 13 of the African Charter. 9He is seeking a perpetual injunction to prevent the respondents from interfering with his rights and is asking for the policy to be overturned.
