The Lagos State chapter of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has formally petitioned the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the management of Caleb University, Imota, Ikorodu, over what it described as the discriminatory treatment of Muslim female candidates wearing the hijab during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
MURIC raised alarm over reports that candidates at the Caleb University Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre were being compelled to remove their hijabs before being allowed to write the examination, an act the group described as both “unconstitutional and unethical.”
In an official statement issued by Dr. Busari Jamiu Muhammad, Chairman of MURIC Lagos, the organization stated:
“We have received disturbing allegations that Muslim hijabi candidates writing the ongoing JAMB UTME 2025 at Caleb University, Ikorodu, Lagos, are being victimized and forced to remove their hijab before being allowed to take the examination.”
MURIC emphasized that this action violates the religious rights of the candidates and called for urgent intervention by JAMB and university authorities.
“This discriminatory act contravenes JAMB’s guidelines for examination conduct and the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are sending a clear SOS to the JAMB headquarters in Abuja and Lagos, as well as to the management of Caleb University and the operators of the CBT centre, to immediately halt this unconstitutional practice,” the statement added.
The organization urged all stakeholders to uphold the principles of fairness, inclusivity, and respect for religious freedom during the national examination process.
