The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has been shaken by widespread, tech-enabled cheating that threatens the integrity of Nigeria’s critical admission process. JAMB’s Special Committee on Examination Infractions (SCEI) uncovered 4,251 cases of “finger blending”, a biometric fraud method used to bypass fingerprint verification, and 190 cases of AI-assisted impersonation employing image morphing.
In addition to these, the board flagged 1,878 false disability claims, forged credentials, multiple NIN registrations per candidate, and coordinated collusions involving parents, tutorial centres, CBT operators, and candidates.
JAMB’s defenses included dismantling illegal networks through a clever decoy strategy: the board launched a fake website mimicking fraudulent help services, catching 180 eager candidates who thought they were buying leaked questions. Those caught have had both their UTME and Direct Entry results canceled.
In total, 39,834 candidate results remain withheld due to malpractice, with 2,157 under probe for biometric or identity fraud.([turn0search5]) Meanwhile, 97 candidates were apprehended outright, and more than 40 individuals were arrested during the ongoing exams for impersonation and other forms of cheating.
To restore trust, JAMB proposes:
Result annulment for offenders;
Bans ranging from 1 to 3 years;
Prosecution where applicable, including registrants and facilitators;
Mandatory ethics training for frontline CBT centre staff;
A new Central Sanctions Registry accessible by schools, employers, and exam boards;
Deployment of AI-powered biometric anomaly systems and real-time monitoring;
Legislative reforms to update the JAMB Act and Examination Malpractice Act to include digital crimes.([turn0search0])
For underage offenders, JAMB recommends rehabilitation-focused measures—such as counselling and supervised re-registration under provisions of the Child Rights Act. The board also called for a nationwide “Integrity First” campaign and ethics education in schools to shift the culture of exam cheating.
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