A joint operation by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force has led to the arrest of 20 suspects for allegedly hacking the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The arrests were made in Abuja, targeting a suspected syndicate reportedly made up of more than 100 individuals who specialise in breaching the computer servers of examination bodies, including JAMB and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
Security sources revealed that the suspects confessed to intentionally sabotaging the Computer-Based Test (CBT) system to discredit JAMB and discourage the adoption of CBTs by NECO and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in the future.
The group reportedly charged candidates between ₦700,000 and ₦2 million to manipulate their UTME scores. Investigations show that many members of the syndicate own private schools and operate illegal “special centres,” reaping enormous profits from desperate candidates and parents.
“The goal was to ensure high scores for paying candidates while compromising the integrity of the entire examination process,” one source familiar with the investigation said.
This development comes on the heels of a rocky 2025 UTME exercise, during which JAMB acknowledged technical failures that affected nearly 380,000 candidates across 157 centres in Lagos and the South-East. These issues led to rescheduled exams that began on May 16.
JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, while fighting back tears during a recent press briefing, apologised to candidates and parents for the distress caused, assuring the public that those responsible would be held accountable.
“These arrests affirm our zero tolerance for examination malpractice and digital sabotage,” said a senior security operative involved in the probe. “We are committed to sanitising the education sector, and further arrests may follow.”
As the investigation unfolds, education stakeholders have urged JAMB and relevant agencies to invest more in cybersecurity infrastructure and examination integrity.
The public has also been advised to avoid engaging in fraudulent practices and to report any suspicious activities around examination processes to the appropriate authorities.
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