Cheating 5.0: JAMB Uncovers Nigeria’s New High-Tech Exam Cartel
Byline: IDNN Education & Digital Crime Desk
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dropped a bombshell on the nation’s education sector, revealing the rise of a dangerous, digitally sophisticated exam fraud network that threatens to cripple the credibility of Nigeria’s university admissions process.
JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede, speaking through the board’s latest bulletin, declared that the scale of this digital malpractice demands nothing less than a national emergency.
“We are facing a crisis of confidence in the examination system,” he warned.
Crimes of the Future: AI, Hackers, and Fingerprint Fusion
Among the disturbing revelations from the 2025 UTME cycle:
-
AI-powered facial photo blending, used to forge candidate identities
-
Fingerprint fusion, where prints from multiple people were combined for a single registration
-
Hacked CBT servers, allowing remote manipulation of candidate responses
-
Underground “strong rooms” linked to exam centers, where real-time interference occurred
-
Undergraduate mercenaries, paid to impersonate and write exams for candidates
These tactics allowed exam imposters to bypass biometrics, hack networks, and submit fake answers while pretending to take tests in real time.
“This isn’t traditional malpractice — it’s organized crime,” Oloyede said. “These are coordinated digital rings, many run by CBT centre owners and school proprietors themselves.”
3,000 Candidates Flagged, Arrests Ongoing
JAMB confirmed that over 3,000 candidates have been flagged as beneficiaries or collaborators in the fraud. Several arrests have already been made, while investigations continue nationwide.
“These malpractices are not just criminal — they undermine learning, corrupt research, and sabotage the future of education,” the Registrar said.
He added that many of those caught were university students, revealing a chilling cycle: fraudsters helping new candidates cheat, then entering universities to cheat again.
Call for a National Reset
JAMB is demanding a “radical shift” in how Nigeria addresses exam malpractice.
Oloyede condemned public apathy and the growing conspiracy culture that treats fraud as strategy:
“Instead of helping, many people are spreading conspiracy theories and defending the criminals. This silence and complicity must stop.”
He called on lawmakers, schools, tech partners, and the media to unite in a new push for exam security innovation, saying the survival of merit-based education is on the line.
