JAMB busts AI syndicates defrauding UTME candidates

The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has revealed that the Board uncovered criminal syndicates deploying artificial intelligence to impersonate officials and defraud candidates preparing for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Saturday, Oloyede described the development as “grave and disturbing,” warning that candidates and parents involved in examination fraud would face severe consequences.

According to him, JAMB convened the briefing to confront activities that undermine fairness, merit and integrity within Nigeria’s education system.

“Over the years, the Board has invested heavily — financially, technologically and institutionally — to safeguard the credibility of UTME. These efforts are necessary to protect millions of honest candidates whose only crime is believing that hard work still matters,” he said.

The registrar disclosed that investigations exposed syndicates using AI tools to impersonate JAMB officials and offer fraudulent services to candidates. He stressed, however, that some candidates and their parents were willing collaborators.

“What is important for us to emphasise is that the students themselves and their parents are willing collaborators and cannot be regarded as innocent,” Oloyede said, adding that the Board had made recommendations to the Minister of Education for the cancellation of affected registrations.

More than 100 candidates were implicated in the scheme, with 83 confirmed to have made payments across 25 states.

“This shows it is not peculiar to a particular region. It is evenly distributed,” he noted.

Oloyede dismissed allegations that JAMB had increased registration fees, insisting the Board had not raised charges from last year. He urged anyone asked to pay more than the approved amount to report to the Board.

He also disclosed that some Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres had been sanctioned, with at least two suspended for their involvement.

Rejecting calls for leniency or negotiation with offenders, Oloyede said the matter would be referred to security agencies, including the Directorate of State Services, the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

He warned that paying for examination fraud is a punishable offence and that membership in online groups offering such illegal services would no longer be tolerated. Ignorance, he stressed, would not be accepted as a defence.

Oloyede also expressed concern over the involvement of underage candidates and revealed that some school proprietors had been arrested in connection with the fraud.

Despite the sophistication of the schemes, he maintained that JAMB had strengthened its technical systems, including mechanisms to detect prohibited devices during examinations, and remained ahead of fraudsters.

The 2026 UTME registration began on January 26 and closed at accredited centres on February 28, with the general registration window ending February 26. As of February 17, more than 1.5 million candidates had registered for the examination.

He appealed to the media to help sensitise parents and guardians, urging them not to expose their children to criminal conduct in pursuit of academic success.