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Fresh revelations have emerged on how operators of some Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres accredited by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) allegedly connived with hackers to compromise the conduct of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Investigations by Saturday PUNCH uncovered that some CBT centre operators supplied technical information, including Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, to hackers who then gained unauthorized access to local servers and manipulated examination processes.
The 2025 UTME, held in May, was marred by widespread technical glitches. Out of 1.9 million candidates, about 1.5 million scored below 200 out of a total of 400 marks, sparking outrage nationwide. In an emotional briefing on May 14, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, admitted that technical errors had significantly affected the results.
Following the chaos, security agencies arrested no fewer than 20 suspects in Abuja, including some CBT operators, for allegedly hacking servers. JAMB subsequently warned in June about candidates resorting to Artificial Intelligence tools to impersonate others and even falsely claim disabilities, such as albinism, to cheat.
By July, a policy meeting revealed that centres in Imo and Anambra states topped the list of malpractice hotspots. A total of 19 CBT centres were implicated nationwide, with Anambra accounting for six, Imo four, and others spread across Abia, Edo, Kano, Ebonyi, Delta, Kaduna, Rivers, and Enugu. In August, JAMB announced that 6,458 admission seekers were under investigation for technology-enabled exam fraud.
How the servers were breached
A self-acclaimed hacker, who identified himself simply as Ahmed, told Saturday PUNCH that centre operators were key enablers of the malpractice.
According to him, some operators deliberately released their IP addresses to hackers, allowing mercenaries—individuals who illegally write exams for others—to log into servers remotely.
“There are centres that make their IPs available to hackers. With that, we penetrate their servers, access questions, and candidate login details. While candidates sit physically in the halls, mercenaries outside the centre answer the questions on their behalf,” Ahmed explained.
He added that candidates were often instructed to stay quiet if their systems logged out, while hackers completed their papers remotely. Once re-logged, candidates would find their questions already answered, requiring only a “Submit” click.
Insiders, compromised operators fueling malpractice
An education consultant in Lagos corroborated the claims, saying the malpractice was impossible without insider collaboration. He alleged that desperate parents paid huge sums to secure success for their wards, with operators pocketing millions of naira.
A Lagos-based CBT operator also confirmed that many centres were aware their servers had been compromised but looked the other way because of the profits. According to him, some even had “backbones” within JAMB.
JAMB reacts
However, JAMB’s Head of Public Affairs, Fabian Benjamin, dismissed claims that the board’s main systems were hacked.
“Our examinations are not internet-enabled. Questions are transmitted via a Local Area Network similar to text messaging. What hackers manipulate are local servers of compromised centres in connivance with their owners,” he clarified.
Differing perspectives
The President of the CBT Centre Proprietors Association of Nigeria, Austin Ohaekelem, cautioned against branding every technical hitch as fraud. He argued that genuine glitches during registration and biometric capture were often mistaken for deliberate sabotage, leading to unfair blacklisting of some centres.
Similarly, the Secretary of the Association of Tutorial School Operators in Oyo State, Ogundokun Olufunso, warned that desperate candidates sometimes colluded with engineers to manipulate biometrics. He stressed that while eliminating malpractice entirely might be difficult, loopholes could be significantly reduced if JAMB intensified checks.
Other stakeholders, including the Director of Toppers Coaching Centre in Ogun State, Fresh revelations have emerged on how operators of some Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres accredited by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) allegedly connived with hackers to, and the founder of Campusinfo Consult Limited, Taiwo Folorunsho, urged JAMB to re-examine its systems, plug loopholes, and upgrade its technology to restore public confidence
