The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has summoned 94 candidates and several tertiary institutions over alleged examination registration malpractice and the submission of fake certificates during the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) registration.
In a statement shared on its X handle, the board accused the candidates of soliciting or paying for illicit assistance during the registration exercise.
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The board said the candidates are expected to appear before separate virtual investigative panels on Wednesday, 18 March to address allegations linked to the registration exercise.
JAMB said the details of the access passcode required to join the virtual session had been sent to the affected candidates through their registered phone numbers.
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The board has also published the registration numbers of the affected candidates on its website.
“The registration numbers of the 94 affected candidates are available on the JAMB website under Quick Links ‘Solicitations Candidates’,” the board said.
It warned that candidates who fail to honour the invitation would be deemed to have admitted the allegations against them.
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Institutions queried over fake certificates
The examination body has also summoned heads of tertiary institutions linked to questionable A-level certificates.
The institutions are also expected to attend a separate virtual meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 17 March.
According to JAMB, the institutions were invited after some Direct Entry applicants submitted certificates that their schools later identified as fake or unverifiable.
“The list of affected institutions has been published on the JAMB website under Quick Links ‘Institutions with Outstanding Response,” the board said.
Reviews on the JAMB website show that 43 institutions, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, were invited for the meeting.
The institutions are linked to 2,638 DE results with outstanding clearance requests, raising concerns about certificate verification in the admission process.
The board said the virtual meetings are part of its ongoing efforts to investigate irregularities and strengthen integrity in Nigeria’s tertiary admission system.
UTME Fraud
Earlier in March, the board said it uncovered an AI-driven fraud scheme targeting candidates registering for the 2026 UTME, stating that the scheme involved sophisticated digital tools used by some individuals to manipulate registration processes and create fraudulent credentials.
It also blamed the persistence of such practices partly on pressure from some parents who encourage candidates to seek unfair advantages during the admission process.
Rising concerns over fake certificates
Concerns about certificate fraud have persisted in Nigeria’s tertiary admission system, particularly through the DE pathway, which allows candidates with advanced qualifications to gain admission into universities without sitting the UTME.
The DE is designed for applicants who already possess recognised qualifications such as the Advanced Level (A-Level) certificate, National Diploma (ND), Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) certificate, Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) certificate and other equivalent credentials.
In 2024, JAMB uncovered more than 1,600 fake A-level certificates submitted by DE applicants, prompting the board to tighten credential verification for admission applications.
In response, JAMB implemented several measures to safeguard the integrity of the admission process, including the “No Verification, No Admission” policy.
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Also, among the measures suggested to curb the menace was the establishment of an A-level result verification task force and a common platform for verifying A-level results and certificates.
The board later announced that several candidates involved in the fraud had their admissions withdrawn, while investigations were extended to institutions suspected of facilitating the irregularities.
The board also introduced stricter screening mechanisms for DE admissions, including direct confirmation of certificates with issuing institutions and closer monitoring of admission processing by universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
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