The Special Committee on Examination Infractions of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has raised alarm over what it described as the “highly organised, technology-driven, and culturally normalised” nature of malpractice in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Presenting the committee’s findings in Abuja on Monday, its chairman, Dr. Jake Epelle, disclosed that more than 6,000 infractions were uncovered, ranging from biometric fraud to large-scale identity manipulation schemes.
Epelle revealed that 1,878 candidates falsely claimed to be albinos in an attempt to exploit JAMB’s disability provisions. Others, he said, deployed advanced technology to evade detection.
“We documented 4,251 cases of ‘finger blending’, 190 cases of AI-assisted image morphing, 1,878 false declarations of albinism, and numerous cases of credential forgery, multiple NIN registrations, and solicitation schemes,” he said.
“This fraud is not the work of candidates alone—it is sustained by syndicates involving some CBT centres, schools, parents, tutorial operators, and even technical accomplices.”
The panel’s report painted a grim picture of the scale of digital deception, citing widespread use of fake National Identification Numbers (NINs), forged credentials, and coordinated syndicate-backed fraud.
It warned that the country’s current legal framework is inadequate to contain the growing menace, stressing that “public trust in the examination system is already being eroded.”
To tackle the crisis, the committee recommended sweeping reforms, including the deployment of “AI-powered biometric anomaly detection, dual verification systems, real-time monitoring, and a National Examination Security Operations Centre.”
It further urged JAMB to “cancel results of confirmed fraudulent candidates, impose bans of 1–3 years, prosecute both candidates and their collaborators, and create a Central Sanctions Registry accessible to institutions and employers.”
Other proposals included digitising correction workflows, tightening disability verification, strengthening mobile-first self-service platforms, and banning bulk school-led registrations.
On the legal front, the panel recommended amendments to the JAMB Act and the Examination Malpractice Act “to recognise biometric and digital fraud, and provide for a Legal Unit within JAMB.”
JAMB inaugurated the Special Committee on August 18 with a mandate to investigate, review, and propose measures to curb the rising wave of technology-enabled examination malpractice.
