The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has discovered more than 6,000 cases of cheating linked to technology during the 2025 UTME. This was revealed by the Special Committee on Examination Malpractices, led by Dr. Jake Epelle, when it presented its report in Abuja on Monday.
According to the committee, some of the fraud uncovered included:
- 1,878 candidates who falsely claimed to be albinos in order to gain special exam privileges.
- 4,251 cases of “finger blending” (a type of biometric fraud).
- 190 cases of AI-powered image manipulation.
- Numerous cases of fake NINs, forged credentials, and organised cheating backed by syndicates.
Dr. Epelle explained that exam malpractice has now become highly organised and technology-driven, often involving not just students but also some CBT centres, schools, parents, tutorial operators, and even technical accomplices.
The committee warned that current laws are not strong enough to deal with these new forms of digital fraud. It stressed that public trust in Nigeria’s examination system is already under serious threat.
Recommendations by the Panel
To tackle the problem, the panel recommended that JAMB should:
- Use AI-powered systems to detect biometric fraud in real-time.
- Set up a National Examination Security Operations Centre.
- Cancel results of candidates caught cheating, impose 1–3 year bans, and prosecute both students and their collaborators.
- Create a Central Sanctions Registry that schools and employers can check.
- Tighten disability verification, ban bulk registrations by schools, and digitise correction processes.
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The committee also called for changes to the JAMB Act and the Examination Malpractice Act to specifically recognise biometric and digital exam fraud.
JAMB had set up the committee on August 18 to investigate and suggest solutions to the rising cases of technology based exam malpractice.