The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has accused the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) of being biased towards Christian private universities. The group made this accusation following an apology from JAMB to Muslim candidates who were disallowed from entering Covenant University and Canaanland JAMB centers to sit for the mock examination which took place on Thursday, 30th March 2023.
While MURIC accepted the apology from JAMB, the organization noted that Christian private universities were witch-hunting Muslims, and insisted that JAMB should take action on the petitions written against Covenant University and Canaanland. The group’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, stated that JAMB needed to do more than rescheduling the exam for the maltreated Muslim candidates.
MURIC asked how JAMB would lift the spirits of the Muslim candidates who suffered persecution, trauma, and derision at the hands of Covenant University and Canaanland simply for wearing hijab and being Muslims. The group also questioned how JAMB would ease the tension among millions of Muslims who have suffered painful discrimination because of the maltreatment of their fellow Muslims.
MURIC claimed that JAMB was treating Christian private universities with “kid’s gloves.” According to the group, “Rescheduling the examination cannot be the only consequence for the oppression, dehumanization, and stigmatization which Covenant University and Canaanland willfully and maliciously visited on their daughters as if the latter are less homo sapien compos mentis.”
The accusation by MURIC is likely to spark further debates and concerns about religious discrimination in Nigeria. It remains to be seen what steps JAMB will take to address the situation and ensure that all candidates, regardless of their religion or affiliations, are treated fairly and without prejudice