The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday it had sanctioned some of its accredited officials for asking a hijab-wearing female Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate to remove her head cover before she could sit for the examination.

The board said this in a statement in Abuja by its Public Communication Advisor (PCA), Dr. Fabian Benjamin.

The statement, which was in reaction to publications on some news platforms, titled: Re: Lagos Centre Stops Hijab-Wearing Candidate As UTME Commences, said the incident was instantly resolved with the female candidate being allowed to sit for the UTME with her hijab.

The examination body also announced that about 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the UTME by today.

The statement reads: “The attention of the board was drawn to an unfortunate incident at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, where it was reported by Muslim News of Sunday, April 21, 2024, and other platforms, that a candidate donning hijab was asked to remove her head cover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.

“The board deeply regretted the incident and, on investigation, discovered that this particular incident or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the board’s guidelines on accreditation, which ensures that all candidates are screened, allowing only female officials to screen female candidates before allowing them to gain entrance into the hall.”