Victoria Mbangwa
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially released the results of the 2025 UTME resit, but not without sounding a serious alarm over what it describes as the most sophisticated wave of digital exam fraud in its history.
In a statement released on its official X (formerly Twitter) account and signed by its Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB confirmed that the resit was conducted for candidates affected by technical disruptions at select Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres during the initial examination. The Board also extended heartfelt thanks to the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for making room in its schedule to accommodate the resit.
However, the announcement came with a sobering revelation. JAMB disclosed that beyond routine malpractice, it had uncovered an alarming rise in advanced digital fraud tactics aimed at manipulating exam outcomes.
“These unwholesome practices include collusion between certain CBT centre and school proprietors often with the connivance of accredited centres to hack the networks of targeted CBT centres. This gave them control of candidates’ computers, allowing remote submission of responses to the local server of the centres, as recently discovered by security agencies, to whom we are profoundly grateful,” the statement said. The Board explained that such activities gave fraudsters unauthorized control over candidates’ systems during exams.
In addition to network hacking, JAMB revealed disturbing trends like AI-generated photo blending to mask impersonation, the use of multiple individuals’ fingerprints for a single candidate’s registration, and intentional disruptions of seating plans to facilitate candidate-mercenary pairings. The investigation also found evidence of Local Area Networks being illegally extended to “remote strong rooms” where mercenaries operated undetected.
“Over 3,000 candidates nationwide have been identified as either accomplices or beneficiaries of this extraordinary examination fraud. As investigations continue, all candidates implicated in these activities will have their results withdrawn once incontrovertible evidence is established, even if those results have already been released.” JAMB warned, noting that its central server remains secure despite the breaches at some local centres.
The Board called for national introspection, urging Nigerians to shift attention from “conspiracy theories and hatred” to safeguarding the integrity of the education system.
