According to data released by the Joint Admissions and Admissions Committee, the Anambra and Lagos countries have become the highest criminals in exam malfeasance during the 2025 unified Level 3 entrance examination.
At present, the police across the country are interrogating a total of 80 suspects, of which 14 are suspected. The suspect from the state was arrested for 13 mock cases and involved an incident of mismatch in pictures. Lagos then made nine arrests, related to simulation, spy and cell phone possession.
JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede disclosed the figures at a press conference held at the Abuja board headquarters on Friday. He noted that the board has discovered new and increasingly complex forms of exam fraud not only in UTME itself, but also in the registration process. These include identity and biometric fraud, such as the use of combined thumb marks between candidates and imitators, often facilitated with the assistance of computer-based testing centers. Other strategies include dual registration and the candidate’s attempts to replace himself with others.
Oloyede also cites Delta, Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Ebonyi and Enugu as other states in other states. The Delta records eight suspects, while Kano has seven suspects associated with fake and illegal possession of imitating mobile phones. Kaduna has six suspects for similar offenses. Rivers has six more people arrested for imitation and were captured by cell phones and calculators. Ebonyi and Enugu each recorded five imitation cases.
In a particularly compelling case, Oloyede reported that a blind candidate hired another blind man who was already an undergraduate student to impersonate him and sit in UTME.
The results of the 2025 UTME were officially released on Friday. JAMB revealed that of the 1.9 million candidates who took the exam, more than 1.5 million scored below 200 points, which is considered the average performance threshold. UTME scored over 400 and tested candidates in four core subjects, using English is mandatory, with the remaining three subjects selected based on the candidate’s required field of study.
