The Federal Government has issued a firm directive to all major examination bodies in Nigeria — including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO), and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) — to blacklist Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and candidates found guilty of examination malpractice.
This sweeping order was handed down by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, via a letter dated May 27, 2025, following revelations of widespread malpractice in the recently concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Dr. Alausa instructed that any school or CBT centre implicated in malpractice or operating as a “miracle centre” should be derecognised for a number of years to be determined by the respective examination body. He further emphasized that once a centre is blacklisted by one body, others must follow suit, ensuring that sanctions run concurrently across all relevant boards.
“This will send a very strong signal to operators of these miracle centres,” Alausa stated.
The minister also ordered that candidates involved in examination malpractice be banned from sitting for any national external examination for three years, using the National Identification Number (NIN) system for enforcement. According to him, this strict measure will serve as a deterrent to both students and parents.
Backing his directive with legal authority, Alausa cited Section 16(2) of the Examination Malpractices Act, which empowers examination bodies to circulate the names of offenders for collective punitive action.
This development comes after JAMB disclosed disturbing findings of what it described as “advanced digital fraud” in the 2025 UTME, leading to the withdrawal of some candidates’ results and arrests nationwide.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, revealed sophisticated methods used in the fraud, including:
Hacking of CBT centre networks to remotely input answers,
AI-generated impersonation using blended photographs,
Fingerprint manipulation involving multiple individuals, and
Collusion between centre operators and mercenary candidates.
Oloyede disclosed that over 3,000 candidates have been identified as either direct perpetrators or beneficiaries of the malpractice. He noted that further withdrawals of results will continue as investigations progress, stressing that even previously released results may be cancelled once evidence is confirmed.
The Joint Security Task Force and digital forensics teams are working with JAMB to trace, arrest, and prosecute culprits involved in what authorities are calling the most technologically advanced examination fraud in Nigeria’s history.
Comments