The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused the management of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), and some other universities of admitting candidates illegally admitting students in the ongoing 2020/2021 admission exercise.

This was contained in a statement signed by JAMB's head of the Public Affairs and Protocol unit, Fabian Benjamin.

According to the statement, the university (UNIABUJA), among other unnamed institutions, is reportedly issuing admission letters to candidates without recourse to JAMB.

JAMB is the body statutorily empowered to issue admission letters to successful candidates of universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and monotechnics in Nigeria.

The examination body said only admissions offered to candidates through its Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), which was introduced few years ago, are authentic.

The statement, which is titled; “Caveat Emptor: Illegal Admissions by some Institutions,” reads as follows:

“The attention of the Board has been drawn to the illegitimate admissions purportedly being conducted by some universities, including the University of Abuja. These universities have been reported to be issuing admission letters to candidates without recourse to the Board. It is, therefore, pertinent to state that such admissions that have not been proposed, approved nor accepted on the Central Admissions Processing System(CAPS) are null and void, and as such, asking hapless candidates to pay acceptance fees for such admissions that had not been processed through CAPS amounts to illegality.

“Consequently, such admissions are illegal, unacceptable and offensive to extant rules and regulations guiding admissions to tertiary institutions in Nigeria as approved by the Federal Ministry of Education and provided on CAPS.

“It would be recalled that the Board instituted CAPS in 2017 as an automated platform designed to ensure that admissions are transparently done to protect the interest of all Nigerians desirous of tertiary education.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), therefore, advises all candidates not to accept any admissions that are not provisioned on CAPS. By implication, any candidate who has not accepted and printed his/her admissions letter on CAPS should not pay any acceptance fee as any admission done outside CAPS is an illegitimate admission that would not be sanctioned by the Board.

“It should be noted that admission guidelines stipulate that institutions recommend qualified candidates through CAPS in accordance with laid-down criteria to the Board for approval. As such, any such admission not approved by the Board is an exercise in futility.

“Any institution violating these well-intentioned guidelines has much to hide and the Board would not shy away from its responsibility of ensuring compliance to laid-down admission guidelines. The Board will not relent in its efforts to ensure that no institution violates the extant admission guidelines.

“Candidates are advised, in their own interest, not to accept such admissions done outside the purview of JAMB nor pay any acceptance fee as such admissions will never be allowed to stand.”