In a sweeping crackdown on examination fraud, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force have arrested no fewer than 20 suspects for allegedly hacking the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) computer-based test (CBT).
The 2025 UTME, organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), is Nigeria’s gateway assessment into tertiary institutions. Authorities say the breach targeted the integrity of the CBT system—central to JAMB’s reforms over the past decade.
According to sources close to the investigation, the suspects deployed sophisticated digital tools to compromise examination servers and gain unauthorized access to test materials.
“This is not just malpractice but it’s cybercrime,” a senior security official involved in the operation stated. “We are dealing with a coordinated network of individuals who attempted to undermine a national examination process.”
While JAMB is yet to release an official statement, insiders suggest the board may tighten CBT security protocols and introduce sweeping reforms ahead of subsequent exams.
The arrests send a strong signal to would-be fraudsters. Authorities insist that more arrests are imminent as the investigation deepens.
