The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has launched a 23-member special committee to investigate 6,458 cases of high-tech malpractice detected during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who inaugurated the committee on Monday in Abuja, said exam fraud has now evolved into “technologically sophisticated forms” that go far beyond traditional cheating methods.
According to him, while 141 “regular” malpractice cases have already been referred to JAMB’s disciplinary committee, the newly inaugurated panel will focus on more “extraordinary infractions” such as biometric fraud, image blending, falsification of albinism, finger pairing, and attempts to hack into CBT centres’ local area networks.
Prof. Oloyede emphasized that the integrity of the UTME must be safeguarded, urging the committee to deliver its report within three weeks.
The panel includes notable academics, security operatives, and tech experts such as retired Police Commissioner Fatai Owoseni, Dr. Chuks Okpaka of Microsoft Africa, and representatives from the DSS, National Security Adviser’s office, Police, and the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
“This year we came across a number of strange things, and we felt it was better to expand our resources,” Oloyede said. “If we don’t act now, exam malpractice will keep mutating in dangerous ways.”
