More than 80% of the 98,232 candidates scheduled for Saturday’s nationwide mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) failed to appear, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) reveals.
The Board attributes the low turnout to tightened security and surveillance targeting impersonators and exam malpractice rings.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, speaking from the Technology CBT Centre in NAF Valley Estate, Abuja, confirms that only about 12% of registered candidates turned up. “Normally, mop-ups are for 4,000 to 5,000 candidates with legitimate issues. But this time, we gave a wider second chance—armed with intelligence from security agencies.”
He says the poor turnout confirms that many registered individuals were involved in organised cheating. “Some CBT centres expecting 250 candidates barely saw 20. This is due to criminal syndicates disguised as tutorial centres and private schools,” he says.
Oloyede further discloses a bizarre trend—1,787 candidates falsely claimed to be albinos to exploit facial recognition systems. “We have fewer than 250 albinos nationwide. A centre registered 450 alone. It’s a ploy to trick AI detection through image blending.”
He adds, “Some impersonators even submitted photos merged with real candidates’ images to deceive our systems.”
Security agencies have started making arrests. “These people have names, NINs, and phone numbers. Many are already in custody,” Oloyede confirms.
Parents funding malpractice may also face prosecution. The registrar warns, “We are following the money trail. No one will be spared.”
On Direct Entry fraud, 14 candidates have been caught with fake NCE certificates. “Institutions issuing such documents will face consequences,” he says.
Results for the mop-up exam may be delayed till Monday for forensic checks.
Gom Marian-Report
Plateau News Online 