Victoria Mgbanwa
In a startling revelation, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has uncovered a sophisticated exam fraud operation where candidates used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to blend facial features and falsely present themselves as albinos to bypass the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) facial recognition system.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed the high-tech deception in the Board’s latest weekly bulletin, revealing that some candidates exploited AI-based photo manipulation tools to alter their facial appearance in a bid to defeat biometric authentication protocols.
“These individuals were never albinos,” Oloyede stated, stating that the number of candidates who falsely registered as albinos during the 2025 UTME had raised red flags. “We’ve never recorded more than 100 albino candidates in any given year, but in 2025, we suddenly had 1,787 claiming that status,” he said.
One particular registration centre reportedly accounted for 450 of these cases, prompting a deeper investigation. “We went after all those who claimed to be albinos only to find out that all the genuine albinos who registered for the 2025 UTME are less than 250,” he noted.
According to Oloyede, confessions from arrested suspects confirmed the use of AI-generated images in the impersonation scheme. “When you look at the picture, It will also look like you. That’s what Al is doing now. It’s picture blending,” he stated.
He recounted a notable case from Benin City where a visibly dark-complexioned man was caught attempting to pass himself off as an albino. “You could all see the dark- complexion man arrested in Benin City claiming to be an albino,” the Registrar said.
Further analysis showed that, of the 1,787 albino declarations, fewer than 250 were genuine, underscoring the scale of the deception.
Oloyede assured the public that JAMB is strengthening its systems to counter such sophisticated fraud. He urged candidates to shun unethical behavior, warning that the Board would not hesitate to prosecute offenders.
