Anambra, Lagos Lead JAMB Malpractice Arrests in 2025 UTME

Anambra and Lagos States have emerged as the hotspots for exam malpractices in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), according to fresh data from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

At a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, announced that law enforcement agencies are investigating 80 suspects involved in various forms of cheating during both the registration and examination stages of this year’s UTME. He warned that the tactics used to game the system have become more sophisticated than ever before.

Among the methods detected were identity fraud, biometric manipulation, and the use of combined thumbprints — a trick where both a candidate and an impersonator provide fingerprints during registration. JAMB also uncovered cases of double registrations and attempts to swap candidates entirely.

Anambra State topped the chart with 14 suspects. Out of these, 13 were arrested for impersonation, while one suspect had mismatched photographs on their registration documents. Lagos came in second with nine suspects accused of impersonation, spying, and illegal possession of mobile phones during the exam.

The problem didn’t stop there. Other states with significant numbers of offenders include:

Delta: 8 suspects (impersonation)

Kano: 7 suspects (impersonation, phone possession)

Kaduna: 6 suspects (impersonation, phone possession)

Rivers: 6 suspects (impersonation, possession of phones and calculators)

Ebonyi & Enugu: 5 suspects each (impersonation)

One of the most bizarre cases involved a blind candidate who allegedly paid another blind undergraduate to sit for the exam on his behalf. Prof. Oloyede described this as a troubling sign of how far candidates are willing to go, adding that both CBT centres and parents must step up their vigilance to combat these emerging threats.

Meanwhile, JAMB also released the official results of the 2025 UTME. Out of about 1.9 million candidates who sat for the exam, more than 1.5 million scored below 200 marks out of a possible 400. Every candidate took four subjects — with English compulsory and three other subjects based on their desired course of study.

Prof. Oloyede stressed that addressing these new forms of malpractice will require stronger collaboration among JAMB, exam centres, parents, and security agencies to ensure the integrity of future examinations.