By Felix Khanoba
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has exposed a criminal syndicate that allegedly used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to defraud candidates during the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday in Bwari, Abuja, JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, said the discovery followed a discreet investigation by the Board, which led to the arrest of several suspects.
According to Oloyede, the individuals masqueraded as JAMB officials and produced AI-generated videos and images falsely linking themselves to the Minister of Education and the JAMB Registrar to make their activities appear legitimate.
He said investigations showed that the suspects deployed AI-generated materials and forged identities to trick candidates and parents into paying for purported assistance in the UTME.
Describing the development as a serious threat to the nation’s education system, Oloyede said, “The Board has convened this press briefing to address a grave and disturbing development that strikes at the heart of fairness, merit and integrity in the Nigerian educational system.
“Over the years, the Board has invested heavily financially, technologically and institutionally to safeguard the credibility of UTME.
“These efforts are not optional; they are necessary to protect millions of honest candidates whose only crime is believing that hard work still matters,” Oloyede stated.
The Registrar revealed that over 100 candidates across 25 states had been connected to the scheme, with 83 confirmed to have paid for the illicit services.
“What is important for us to emphasize here is that the students themselves and their parents are willing collaborators and they cannot be regarded as innocent,” he warned.
Oloyede added that the Board would move to cancel the registrations of candidates found to have engaged the syndicate.
“We have made up our mind that all those who subscribed, who paid to be assisted, we are making appropriate recommendations to the authorities… so that we can cancel their registration,” he said.
He also dismissed claims that JAMB had raised its registration fees, insisting the allegations were untrue and politically motivated.
“If you find anybody charging beyond what was charged last year, let that person report to the Board.
We have not increased the fee,” he said, noting that some erring Computer-Based Test centres had already been suspended.
The JAMB boss stressed that the fraudulent operation was spread across the country and not limited to any particular region.
“This is to show you that it is not something that is peculiar to a particular part of the country. They are evenly distributed,” he noted.
While seeking the support of the media and the public, Oloyede maintained that the Board would not bargain with examination fraudsters.
“How do you negotiate with criminals? Our position is clear: paying for examination fraud is a crime,” he said, while warning parents against enabling malpractice, saying such actions ultimately damage their children’s future.
“Parents must understand that paying for fraud does not secure a child’s future, it destroys it. You are teaching them that cheating is a strategy, that deception is acceptable and that merit is optional,” he said.
He further disclosed that some tutorial centres and school proprietors were involved in the operation, including individuals who allegedly moved candidates across state lines and accommodated them in hotels to facilitate malpractice.
Despite the increasing sophistication of fraudulent tactics, Oloyede expressed confidence in JAMB’s technological capabilities and its partnership with security agencies to outpace offenders.
“We are ahead of them. The only problem we have is public opinion,” he said.
He urged candidates, parents, schools and the media to support the Board’s fight against examination malpractice, warning that ignorance would no longer be considered an excuse.
“Anybody who patronises such people will pay for it,” Oloyede said.
