The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has introduced a mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for candidates below the age of 16.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, explained that the mock UTME is not for the purpose of tertiary institution admission but for underage seeking to test their ability.

Oloyede spoke on Sunday at a meeting with media executives in Lagos, where he also announced that this year’s UTME will hold on March 8, 2025.

“We are starting the sale of forms on the 31st of January till 5th of March. There will be a mock exam on the 23rd of February and on the 8th of March there will be UTME,” the JAMB Registrar said.

Oloyede mentioned that JAMB would be introducing a mock for trial-testing examination only this year.

He explained that the mock-trial-testing examination is for individuals who would not qualify for admission into universities, polytechnics or colleges of education because they are below the age of 16 years.

He added that to qualify to write UTME and secure admission into universities, polytechnics or colleges of education, candidates must be 16 years old on or before September 30.

According to the don, candidates who do not desire admission for 2025 but wish to have CBT experience could register for mock only for trial testing.

He noted that the sale of Direct Entry application documents and e-PIN vending would commence on March 10 and April 7.

Oloyede explained that those wishing to write UTME with mock would pay N8,200, UTME only (without mock) N7,200, trial-testing mock only (for underage or testing only) and direct entry candidate N5,700.

The JAMB registrar explained that the board would be enforcing the 16-year age limit for this year’s UTME registration, noting that only gifted candidates below 15 years old be allowed to register.

He added that to qualify to secure admission as an underage, the candidate must score not less than 280 marks in UTME and perform exceptionally in its senior secondary certificate and post-UTME examinations.

“The policy meeting on admission adopted 16 years as the minimum for 2024 admission. JAMB tried to assist by extending the date to accommodate more candidates, but we were taken to court to reverse the extension to 16 years,” he explained.

Former Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, announced last year that only candidates aged 18 and above would be admitted into tertiary institutions in the country.

The declaration attracted a lot of criticisms from Nigerians, which forced the Federal Government to reverse the decision.

Mamman’s successor, Dr Tunji Alausa, suspended the 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country in November 2024.

Meanwhile, Oloyede disclosed that 870 computer-based test centres had been screened and provisionally listed for the 2025 UTME compared to 747 approved last year.

The Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday fixed February 27, 2025, for the arraignment of Gbolahan Obanikoro, the son of Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, and four others for alleged N1,356,057,330.43 fraud.

To be arraigned alongside Obanikoro are Adejare Adegbenro, 51; Balmoral International Limited; M.O.B. Integrated Limited; and DDSS International Company Limited.

The police charged them with five counts, bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretenses, false representation, and fraud.

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa set the date on Friday after the defendants failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment.

When the case was called, the prosecution counsel, Momoh Bello, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for the arraignment of the defendants.

Following the absence of the defendants, Bello then asked the court for a bench warrant against them, saying that they had all been served.

But counsel for the fourth defendant ( M.O.B. Integrated Limited), Joshua Abel, opposed the bench warrant prayer.

He told the court that the fourth defendant is a company and that the fourth defendant received service late on Wednesday and he was informed of the case late on Thursday.

Abel also told the court that most of the defendants, who are directors of the firm, were not in the country.

“I have not had the opportunity to go through the case before the directors can be arraigned,” he said.

Justice Lewis-Allagoa then asked the prosecutor for the proof of service and date of service.

He said, “I want proof of service and the date of service. The record of this court shows that service was effected on the third and fourth defendants. It’s less than 48 hours that they have been served; one of them was served yesterday. The first and second defendants are natural persons and there is no proof of service on them.

“The law says personal service. You can go and regularise service on the defendants. There is no proof that the first and second defendants have been served. However, there is proof that the third and fourth defendants have been served. The prosecution is directed to serve the first and second defendants,” the judge ruled and then adjourned till February 27, 2025, for the arraignment of all the defendants.

The Inspector General of Police, through the Special Fraud Unit in Ikoyi, Lagos, accused the defendants and others at large of conspiring amongst themselves between May and September 2013 to fraudulently obtain the sum of N1,356,057,330.43 from Access Bank Plc (formerly Diamond Bank).

They were accused of allegedly misrepresenting themselves to the bank’s staff and officers, claiming they were involved in the business of importing cars from Dubai for sale in Nigeria, and that the money was needed to finance the importation of a set of brand-new cars for resale.

The defendants are also being accused of converting, transferring, retaining, or taking possession of the funds, knowing or having reason to know that such funds were proceeds of unlawful activity.

The police further alleged that they unlawfully converted the sum of N1bn belonging to the bank for personal use.

According to the police, the offences committed contravened Section 8(i)(a) and punishable under Section 1(3), 1(i)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud-Related Offenses Act, No. 14 of 2006, and Section 18(2)(b) and (d) and 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Former presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Olusegun Obasanjo have defended Nigeria in the $2.3 billion arbitration proceedings filed against the country by Sunrise Power over an alleged breach of contract by the federal government at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.

The parties in the case now await the court’s verdict.

The arbitration court in France had a week-long hearing, between 18th and 23rd January, in Paris on the ongoing dispute between Sunrise Company/Leno Adesanya and the government of Nigeria on the existence or absence of a contract for the construction of the Mambilla Power Project.

The Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station is a proposed 3,050 MW hydroelectric power project.

Sunrise Power, which claimed to have been awarded a $6 billion contract to build, operate and transfer the power plant by the Obasanjo administration in May 2003, is in arbitration with Nigeria at the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.

The company has alleged a breach of contract by the federal government and is seeking monetary compensation of $2.3 billion to cover what it had spent on financial and legal consultants.

Obasanjo, Buhari testify at tribunal

Credible sources spoke with our reporters on the appearance of two former presidents at the court last week.

One of the sources said both Obasanjo and Buhari maintained their stand that no contract was signed in the first instance. Hence, there was no basis for the claim of compensation by Sunrise over the $6bn Mambilla power contract deal.

Obasanjo, who testified before the ICC last Wednesday, had in an interview he granted TheCable in 2023, queried his former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, how he got the prerogative to award the contract to Sunrise in 2003.

Buhari, who also testified last Thursday, had earlier written to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, denying authorising the settlement agreement of 2020.

The source said: “It is very important for the nation’s case that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, was successful in bringing two former presidents – Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari – to testify at the hearing.

“By this action, the government of Nigeria sent a signal of its strong commitment to defending the nation’s interest.”

The source said both leaders – Obasanjo and Buhari – are known for speaking forthrightly and unequivocally, and this, they exhibited in Paris.

The source further explained that to the delight of the international team of lawyers representing Nigeria, the two past presidents did extremely well, exposing the Sunrise/Leno’s claim for what it is: an attempt using fraud, deceit and lies to scoop USD660,000 settlement from Nigeria in the first instance, for the alleged violation of a 2003 contract for which there is no valid approval.

According to the source, “It is evident from the proceedings that the case of the litigants was rooted in a purported 2003 agreement. The 2003 contract was established not to have been validly in existence. This is worsened by the fact that the litigants failed to produce their major witnesses.”

Key witnesses missing as Leno makes appearance

Another trusted source confirmed to the Daily Trust that Barrister Michael Andoakaa, the Yar’adua-era Minister of Justice and Attorney General made a brief appearance in Paris. He did not show up at the hearing.

Similarly, the much-touted appearance of a one-time Minister of Power, Agunloye, did not also materialise. He was the one who allegedly signed a side letter communicating the approval of the contract 24 hours after its rejection by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which meeting was presided over by Obasanjo.

A third “key witness”, a Senegalese woman, did not also appear at the hearing.

The source, who closely monitored the proceedings also said, “Another major setback suffered by the litigants was their over-reliance on an earlier witness statement deposed to by Abubakar Malami, Minister of Justice and Attorney General under President Buhari.

“Malami, on whose testimony the litigants made heavy weather was not fielded as a witness, but ended up lining behind his former boss, President Buhari, to support and prepare him well for his (Buhari’s) testimony.

“It was by and large a great showing, consolidated by the equally outstanding testimonies of former ministers, Engineer Sulaiman Adamu, formerly Water Resources and Babatunde Raji Fashola, Power.”

However, Leno Adesanya was before the panel on Tuesday. He, like all the others, was led by a counsel.

Whereabouts of Dr Olu Agunloye

The Daily Trust findings revealed that Olu Agunloye is presently in his house because he had been granted administrative bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

He is being tried at the Federal High Court, FCT, sitting in Apo, Abuja and therefore not in Paris, France.

When our reporter spoke to the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on whether Agunloye would testify at Paris, France, he said they didn’t know because they were not concerned about the matter, and as such it wouldn’t affect the ongoing case in Nigeria.