Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

With the results of 6,458 candidates under investigation for alleged involvement in high-tech cheating, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has inaugurated a special committee to investigate the cases that occured during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Inaugurating the 23-member Special Committee On Examination Infraction on Monday in Abuja, JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, decried the rising sophistication of exam fraud and said the committee had three weeks to present its report, saying that justice delayed is said to be justice denied.

According to him, examination malpractice has evolved beyond traditional schemes into “technologically sophisticated forms,” including multiple cases of biometric and identity fraud by some accredited CBT centres and candidates.

Oloyede stressed the need for urgent action to protect the credibility of examinations. 

“Examination malpractice is something that we must fight with every pinch of blood in our veins,” he said, warning that unchecked fraud could harm several sectors and tarnish Nigeria’s image.

He disclosed that while 141 cases of “normal” exam malpractice have been sent to JAMB’s disciplinary committee, the committee will handle “extraordinary infractions,” such as image blending, albinism falsification, finger pairing and attempts to breach some CBT centres’ Local Area Network (LAN).

He listed the terms of reference of the committee as, “investigate all the cases of image blending, finger blending, false claim of albinism and result falsification in the 2025 examination.

“Identify the methods, patterns, tools and technologies used to perpetrate this infraction; review current examination and registration policies and recommend improvements; determine the culpability or otherwise of each of the 6,458 suspected candidates whose results, excluding the albinism group, are still being withheld”.

According to Oloyede, others are: “Recommend appropriate disciplinary actions or sanction against individuals or groups found culpable; propose a proactive framework for the detection, deterrence and prevention of technologically enabled examination fraud in future exercises; consider and advise on any issue incidental or related to these issues.”

Responding, the committee chairman, Dr. Jake Epele, praised Oloyede’s leadership and pledged the committee’s commitment to the assignment.

Members of the committee include Prof. Muhammad Bello, Prof. Samuel Odewummi, Prof. Chinedum Nwajiuba, Prof. Tanko Ishaya, Prof. Ibe Ifeakandu, Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni (rtd), Dr. Chuks Okpaka of Microsoft Africa, and the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). 

Also represented are the Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Services, Nigeria Police Force, and the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, among others.

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