- Safiu Kehinde
No fewer than 20 suspected syndicates have been arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) in collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force over hacking of the 2025 computer-based test (CBT) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
NPO Reported that the examination conducted by the Joint Matriculation Examination Board (JAMB) had sparked public outrage over mass poor performance from candidates.
The mounting pressure had forced JAMB to probe the conduct of the examination which turned out to have been marred by technical errors across several centres in the country.
A tearful Registrar of the examination board, Prof. Isiaq Oloyede, publicly admitted to the errors while announcing a resit in some of the affected centres.
This had again stirred another round of public backlash over the credibility of the examination, leading to the intervention of the National Assembly which ordered probe into the technical error.
In the wake of the legislative body’s intervention, the DSS and in joint operation with the police arrested the suspects who were believed to be part of over 100 persons syndicate specialised in hacking of the computer servers of examination bodies like JAMB and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
According to reports, the suspects whose identities were not disclosed were apprehended in various states, including Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Kano, and Delta, with further arrests expected in the coming days.
Security sources confirmed that the suspects have confessed to sabotaging the CBT system in order to discredit JAMB and discourage students from using CBT for future examinations to be conducted by NECO and the West African Examination Council, WAEC.
“The syndicate would install an attacking software on the examination body hardware.
“The software, in turn, would remotely hack JAMB servers at any targeted CBT centre,” the source quoted one of the suspect as confessing.
The entire hacking process was reportedly done to influence high scores for special candidates who paid between N700,000 and N2 million.
The report further added that preliminary investigations revealed that several members of the syndicate own private schools and colleges, and make huge sums of money from their special centres.
Meanwhile, no evidence of complicity had been established against the seven JAMB officials who supervised the service providers at the compromised centres.
Members of the public were however assured by authorities that thorough investigations are ongoing and that those found culpable will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.