The submission of a comprehensive report by the Special Committee on Examination Infractions (SCEI) to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has laid bare the escalating threat of technology-driven cheating in Nigeria’s higher education admission process. Presented on 8 September 2025 in Abuja, the document details how syndicates employing artificial intelligence (AI) and biometric manipulation have infiltrated the system, compromising the integrity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). According to the report, out of over two million registered candidates, thousands were implicated in infractions that reflect a broader shift from conventional malpractice to digital sophistication.
Established on 18 August 2025 under the chairmanship of Dr Jake Epelle, the 23-member committee was tasked with probing 6,458 withheld results from the 2025 UTME, identifying patterns of fraud, and recommending safeguards. The panel, comprising representatives from security agencies, student bodies, and disability groups, concluded its work within three weeks. Its findings reveal 6,319 confirmed cases of tech-driven cheating, including 4,251 instances of “finger blending” a technique where fingerprints are deliberately altered to evade biometric verification and 190 cases of AI-assisted impersonation via image morphing. Additionally, 1,878 false disability claims were uncovered, alongside forged credentials, multiple National Identification Number (NIN) registrations, and organised collusion.<
These statistics underscore a disturbing normalisation of fraud, with the committee noting that malpractice has evolved into a “highly organised, technology-driven and dangerously normalised” enterprise
Dr Epelle, in presenting the report to JAMB Registrar Professor Is-haq Oloyede, highlighted the complicity of various stakeholders.
“Eighty percent of these infractions are caused by parents who want to give marks to their children that they don’t deserve,” he stated, pointing to the involvement of families, tutorial centres, schools, and some Computer-Based Test (CBT) operators.<
He further elaborated on the technological arms race: “This is the age of AI and what is going on is that JAMB rolls out a state-of-the-art technology; there are people behind the scene and these are smart young Nigerians. The system is robust, but there is a consistent conspiracy to undermine the system.” Epelle emphasised the need for adaptive, homegrown solutions, adding,
“Every technology has its own glitches, and that is why I am a proponent of adaptive technology. We need a technology that is adapted within our environment, that speaks to issues that we are going through.”
Professor Oloyede, upon receiving the report, assured swift action on recommendations within JAMB’s purview and consultations with the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, for broader reforms. He described the findings as a “wake-up call to the entire education sector,” warning that unchecked malpractice “devalues education, cheats hardworking candidates, and produces incompetent professionals” in critical fields like engineering and medicine.
Oloyede noted a positive trend in traditional exam-hall cheating, which dropped to just 140 cases in 2025, but stressed the surge in registration-stage infractions as a new frontier of fraud.<
To contextualise these revelations, the 2025 UTME saw 2,030,627 registrations, with approximately 1,955,069 candidates sitting the exam.<
Performance data indicates widespread underachievement: 70.7 per cent scored below 200 out of 400, while only 0.88 per cent exceeded 300.
This marks the third-worst outcome since 2016, following 2020 (79.2 per cent below 200) and 2021 (where 1.14 million scored below 200).<
However, the fraud figures dwarf previous years’ reported incidents. For instance, in the 2025 exam alone, JAMB arrested 40 candidates for malpractice during the test, escalating to over 6,000 under scrutiny for tech-related issues. Comparative data from earlier years shows a downward trend in overt malpractice due to CBT adoption: a study on JAMB’s Computer-Based Test system from 2014 onwards noted reduced exam-hall cheating but rising pre-exam fraud, with cases dropping from thousands in paper-based eras to hundreds annually post-2015.<
Yet, by June 2025, JAMB reported over 3,000 digital fraud cases under investigation, signalling an upward trajectory in sophisticated methods.
Investigations in areas like Osogbo, Osun State, revealed how CBT centres and hackers manipulated local networks and servers, with insiders facilitating access for mercenaries.
One tutor, Ibrahim, remarked, “This level of malpractice cannot happen without insiders at the centres or even within the system. Students and parents don’t have that kind of access unless someone on the inside gives it.”
Such syndicates operate across states, exploiting glitches that affected over 300,000 candidates, necessitating resits in May and mop-ups in June.<
The report’s recommendations form a blueprint for resilience. It advocates deploying AI-powered tools for biometric anomaly detection, real-time monitoring, and a National Examination Security Operations Centre.<
Sanctions include result cancellations, one- to three-year bans, prosecutions, and a Central Sanctions Registry.<
Legal amendments to the JAMB Act and Examination Malpractice Act are urged to encompass digital fraud, alongside establishing a dedicated Legal Unit.
Preventive measures encompass digitising corrections, bolstering disability verification, banning bulk registrations, and launching an “Integrity First” campaign to instil ethics in curricula and hold parents accountable.<
For minors, rehabilitative approaches under the Child Rights Act, such as counselling, are proposed over punishment.
The rise of technology-enabled fraud, particularly in the educational sector, mirrors global trends, but in Nigeria, it exacerbates an already fragile system. With educational underfunding allocating just 7-8% of the national budget annually, the situation is dire. This chronic underinvestment creates a cycle of desperation, where individuals and institutions seek shortcuts, even through illegal means. Nigeria’s educational system is strained by these financial constraints, compounded by an alarming statistic: According to UNESCO, over 20 million Nigerian children and youths are out of school, further intensifying competition for tertiary education spots. The lack of educational opportunities has created an environment where success is often measured not by merit, but by access to “connections,” fraudulent qualifications, or digital manipulation.
The consequences of educational fraud in Nigeria extend far beyond university admissions. Fraudulent qualifications, which are often obtained through tech-driven malpractices, erode the integrity of the workforce. In a country struggling to diversify its economy, such malpractices undermine the productivity and competence of future professionals. A 2023 World Bank report estimated that Nigeria loses approximately $15 billion annually in productivity due to poor education quality. This loss is not just an economic drain but also a significant barrier to the country’s growth and development. These statistics highlight the severe long-term impacts of failing to address fraud and underfunding within the educational system, underscoring the need for urgent reforms to secure both academic and economic prosperity.
Epelle warned, “If left unchecked, examination malpractice will continue to erode merit, undermine public trust, and destroy the very foundation of Nigeria’s education and human capital development.”
