The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has denied responsibility for the reported admission of students into the Law Faculty of Lead City University.
According to the board, the admissions were not processed through the official national admission platform. Therefore, they are not recognised.
The clarification followed accusations that the board failed in its duty regarding the controversial admissions. However, JAMB insisted the offers did not originate from its system.
In a statement on Thursday, its Public Communications Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, addressed the issue.
“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been inundated with accusations of dereliction regarding the purported admission of candidates into the Law Faculty of Lead City University despite its suspension for five years,” the statement said.
Admissions Did Not Pass Through CAPS
JAMB explained that the admissions were not processed through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). The platform remains the only approved channel for tertiary admissions in Nigeria.
“The board unequivocally states that the said admissions were not conducted through the Central Admissions Processing System, the only platform approved for the processing of admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
“Consequently, such admissions are void as they are unknown to the board,” the statement added.
CAPS was introduced to promote transparency in the admission process. It also allows candidates to track and accept admission offers online.
As a result, any admission that does not appear on the platform is regarded as invalid.
Law Programme Still Under Suspension
JAMB also noted that Lead City University is currently not permitted to admit students into its Law programme. “The institution is not authorised to admit candidates into the programme until the expiration of the suspension,” Benjamin said.
The Faculty of Law remains under a five-year moratorium imposed by the Council of Legal Education. The council regulates legal education and admission into the Nigerian Law School.
The sanction followed concerns about inadequate infrastructure and repeated breaches of the institution’s admission quota.
Therefore, the university must meet regulatory requirements before resuming admissions into the programme.
Candidates Warned Against Accepting Irregular Offers
Meanwhile, the board warned candidates against accepting admission offers that are not processed through CAPS. “This sad development once again underscores the importance of heeding the board’s repeated and unequivocal advice to candidates not to accept any offer of admission outside CAPS, as admission that is not processed and approved on CAPS is fake,” the statement said.
The board also warned that candidates who accept such offers cannot claim legitimacy.
“Candidates admitted through such irregular means have no legitimate claim as they are considered complicit,” it said.
Consequently, JAMB urged prospective students to always confirm their admission status on CAPS before accepting any offer.
“For the umpteenth time, the board strongly advises prospective candidates, in their own interest, not to accept any admission not processed through CAPS, as the board will neither recognise nor condone such admissions,” Benjamin stated.
Board Raises Alarm Over Illegal Transfers
Furthermore, JAMB revealed that some institutions are attempting to bypass the rules through inter-university transfers.
“The board is aware of certain universities that are circumventing the rules by attempting to transfer illegally admitted candidates to other universities through inter-university transfer,” Benjamin said.
However, the board insisted such transfers would not be recognised.
“Such would also not work as JAMB will not endorse any such inter-university transfer without initial admission on CAPS. For a transfer to be valid, the candidate must have been validly admitted in the first instance,” the statement said.
Advice to Affected Candidates
JAMB advised candidates who may have received such admission offers to ignore them. Instead, they should follow the legitimate admission process.
“Candidates who have been offered admission outside CAPS are therefore advised to disregard such offers and commence the process of obtaining the next UTME application to sit for the examination and pursue legitimate admission through the appropriate channels,” the statement said.
The board ended with a final warning. “Any admission offered outside CAPS is nothing more than an exercise in futility,” the statement added.