The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB)announces plans to dismiss three staff members for selling unauthorised access to its examination portal, as it intensifies a nationwide crackdown on examination fraud ahead of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Board has confirmed that two additional staff in Kaduna and Katsina states remain under active investigation, while sanctions loom for candidates and parents implicated in the scheme.
Speaking to journalists on Saturday in Abuja, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Oloyede Ishaq said investigations uncovered organised syndicates, some using artificial intelligence to impersonate officials and defraud candidates.
“This briefing addresses a grave development that strikes at the heart of fairness, merit and integrity,” the registrar says. “We have invested heavily to protect honest candidates, but criminal networks and willing collaborators continue to test the system.”
According to him, some of the actions the board plans to undertake towards those found wanting may not be palatable.
JAMB revealed that more than 100 candidates allegedly paid for illegal assistance, adding that their UTME registrations may be cancelled, subject to approval by the Minister of Education.
The registrar stresses that parents and candidates involved “cannot be regarded as innocent”.
The Board also raises concern over underage participation, disclosing that about 38,000 candidates registered this year are below the approved age, warning that many are increasingly linked to malpractice rings.
“We have the capacity to clamp down on exam malpractice,” the registrar says. “Our only challenge is public opinion. When we act, some label us draconian.”
JAMB rejects claims of increased registration fees and says several CBT centres and tutorial proprietors linked to fraud have been suspended or taken into custody. Security agencies, including the DSS and Police, are supporting ongoing investigations.
“Paying for examination fraud is a crime,” the registrar warns. “It does not secure a child’s future; it destroys it.”
Oloyede said about 38,000 underage candidates have registered for the 2026 UTME, adding that about 100 of them have been detected to have been assisted by the syndicate during the registration.
He said the board has recommended the affected candidates to Tunji Alausa, minister of education, for cancellation of their registration.
The JAMB registrar said three top officials of the board have also been recommended for dismissal have being found to have collaborated in sabotaging the system.
He added that two other officials and a member of staff of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, are currently undergoing criminal prosecution for involvement in activities inimical to the integrity of the examination body.
He said members of the syndicate are being investigated and will soon face necessary criminal prosecution.
