The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has uncovered a criminal syndicate exploiting Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to manipulate the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration process, with over 100 candidates now facing possible cancellation of their registrations.
Speaking at a press conference in Bwari, Abuja, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed that the syndicate impersonated officials using AI-generated videos and images to falsely suggest affiliation with the Minister of Education and the JAMB Registrar. He revealed that discreet investigations led to several arrests, with 83 candidates confirmed to have paid for the illicit services across 25 states.
Oloyede stressed that the candidates and their parents were “willing collaborators,” not innocent victims, and recommended to the Minister of Education that all implicated registrations be cancelled to serve as a deterrent. “We have made up our mind that all those who subscribed, who paid to be assisted, we are making appropriate recommendations to the authorities… so that we can cancel their registration,” he said.
The Registrar further disclosed that three senior JAMB officials were implicated in the fraud for selling illegal access to the registration portal, adding that the Board had resolved to dismiss them. He reassured the public of JAMB’s determination to deal decisively with fraudsters, insisting that “there is no negotiation with criminals.”
Oloyede dismissed allegations that JAMB had increased registration fees, describing such claims as false and politically motivated. He explained that some Computer-Based Test centres found to be charging above approved fees had already been suspended.
Highlighting the nationwide spread of the fraud, Oloyede noted that it was not peculiar to any region. He warned parents against enabling malpractice, stressing that paying for examination fraud destroys rather than secures a child’s future. “Parents must understand that paying for fraud does not secure a child’s future, it destroys it. You are teaching them that cheating is a strategy, that deception is acceptable and that merit is optional,” he said.
The Registrar also revealed that some tutorial centres and school proprietors were implicated in the racket, including operators who allegedly transported candidates across states and lodged them in hotels for malpractice purposes. Despite the growing sophistication of fraud attempts, he expressed confidence in JAMB’s technological capacity and collaboration with security agencies to stay ahead of perpetrators. “We are ahead of them. The only problem we have is public opinion,” he said.
Oloyede appealed to candidates, parents, schools, and the media to support JAMB’s campaign against examination malpractice, warning that ignorance would no longer be accepted as a defence.
By Ngozi Nwankwo, Abuja
