By Badagry Today The growing menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria has taken a new twist as some operators of Computer-Based Test (CB...
By Badagry Today
The growing menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria has taken a new twist as some operators of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres accredited by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have been exposed for colluding with hackers to manipulate the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to an investigation by Saturday PUNCH, several CBT operators across the country allegedly released technical information to hackers, who then gained access to JAMB servers, paving the way for mercenaries to write exams on behalf of candidates.
The revelation comes in the wake of the mass failure recorded in the 2025 UTME, where over 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates scored below 200 out of 400. The crisis forced JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, to break down in tears at a press conference in May, admitting that technical glitches had affected candidates’ scores.
By August, JAMB confirmed that at least 6,458 admission seekers were under investigation for technology-enabled exam fraud, while 19 CBT centres across different states had already been blacklisted for various infractions.
One of the hackers, identified simply as Ahmed, revealed how the scam works. According to him, CBT centre operators deliberately leak their IP addresses to hackers, granting them remote access to servers. This allows mercenaries outside the exam hall to write the tests while candidates inside remain logged out temporarily.
Ahmed explained:
“Some centres make their IP addresses available. With that, we log in undetected, answer the questions remotely, and the candidate only needs to press submit. The centre staff know about it but keep quiet because they are paid heavily.”
A Badagry-based education consultant also confirmed the practice, stressing that without insiders at CBT centres, such operations would be impossible.
“These deals run into millions of naira, with desperate parents paying centres to guarantee their children’s success. Once we gain access to the servers, our ‘special candidates’ automatically pass,” the consultant disclosed.
Another Lagos-based CBT operator told Saturday PUNCH that many centre owners knowingly allow their servers to be compromised because they profit from the illegal business. Some, he claimed, even have contacts within JAMB who act as a shield for them.
But JAMB insists its systems are secure. The board’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, dismissed claims that hackers accessed JAMB’s website, clarifying instead that only compromised local servers at CBT centres could be manipulated.
“Our exams are not internet-enabled. What these criminals hack are local servers belonging to compromised centres, not JAMB’s central system,” Benjamin explained.
Stakeholders, however, are divided. While the Computer Based Test Centre Proprietors Association of Nigeria defended genuine centres wrongly blacklisted due to technical glitches, tutorial school operators in states like Oyo and Ogun warned that desperate candidates were still conniving with “miracle centres” to game the system.
Education experts say unless JAMB plugs the loopholes and tightens internal monitoring, exam malpractice will remain a recurring nightmare for Nigeria’s education system.
Source: Punch
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