- Two others, ABU staffer face criminal prosecution
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has launched investigation into the activities of a syndicate allegedly using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to subvert the registration process for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The Registrar of JAMB, Is-haq Oloyede, broke the news during a press conference on Saturday in Abuja.
The JAMB registrar said three top officials of the board have also been recommended for dismissal after they were found to have collaborated in sabotaging the system.
He added that two other officials and a member of staff of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, are currently undergoing criminal prosecution for involvement in activities inimical to the integrity of the examination body.
Oloyede said several of the candidates who patronised the syndicate are underage, who, according to him, have been pushed by their parents beyond their academic capacity.
Oloyede said about 38,000 underage candidates have registered for the 2026 UTME, adding that about 100 of them have been detected to have been assisted by the syndicate during the registration.
He said the board has recommended the affected candidates to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for cancellation of their registration.
He said members of the syndicate are being investigated and will soon face necessary criminal prosecution.
Oloyede said: “Parents and their children are willing collaborators and cannot be said to be innocent.
“We have made recommendations to the minister of education to cancel their registration; there are about 100 of them.
“This incident cuts across the country, in at least 25 states. We also have three proprietors of schools who are in custody for aiding and abetting examination malpractices.”
Oloyede commended security agencies for their cooperation, adding that JAMB has the capability to deal with all those sabotaging its system.
“We are ahead of them. The only problem we have is public opinion.”