The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has uncovered widespread technology-driven malpractice in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), raising fresh concerns about the integrity of Nigeria’s admission process.
A report by JAMB’s Special Committee on Examination Infractions (SCEI), presented in Abuja on Monday to the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, revealed 4,251 cases of “finger blending” and 190 instances of AI-assisted impersonation through image morphing.
The committee, inaugurated on August 18, was tasked with investigating rising infractions, reviewing JAMB’s systems, and recommending reforms.
Chairman of the committee, Dr. Jake Epelle, described the assignment as not merely administrative but “a moral obligation, a national service, and a fight for the soul of meritocracy in Nigeria.”
Beyond biometric manipulation and AI impersonation, the committee documented 1,878 false disability claims, forged credentials, multiple National Identification Number (NIN) registrations, and cases of collusion between candidates and examination syndicates.
Recommendations
To restore integrity to the admission process, the panel urged JAMB to:
- Deploy AI-powered biometric anomaly detection tools and establish a central Examination Security Operations Centre for real-time monitoring.
- Cancel fraudulent results, impose one-to-three-year bans, prosecute offenders, and create a Central Sanctions Registry accessible to institutions and employers.
- Digitise correction processes, tighten disability verification, and outlaw bulk school-led registrations.
- Push for amendments to the JAMB Act and the Examination Malpractice Act to cover biometric and digital fraud, alongside creating a dedicated Legal Unit within JAMB.
The panel also called for a nationwide Integrity First campaign, embedding ethics into school curricula, and holding parents accountable where they aid malpractice. For under-18 offenders, it recommended rehabilitative measures under the Child Rights Act, including counselling and supervised re-registration instead of punitive sanctions.
The committee cautioned that unless urgent reforms were adopted, the credibility of Nigeria’s education system would face further erosion.
“If left unchecked, examination malpractice will continue to erode merit, undermine public trust, and destroy the very foundation of Nigeria’s education and human capital development,” Epelle warned.
