The resit, conducted for candidates who were affected by technical disruptions at select centres during the main examination, recorded a significant number of absentees.

More than 21,000 candidates failed to show up for the rescheduled 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Board has revealed.

The resit, conducted for candidates who were affected by technical disruptions at select centres during the main examination, recorded a significant number of absentees.

In a statement released on Sunday and signed by JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board disclosed that 21,082 of the 336,845 candidates scheduled for the resit were absent.

Despite the turnout shortfall, JAMB noted that the performance trends among candidates who took the resit remained within expected historical ranges, citing success rates from 11% in 2013 to 34% in 2016.

JAMB said claims that some candidates from the cancelled sessions scored highly and may wish to retain their results are entirely unfounded.

It noted that in reality, only a handful of candidates scored as high as 217, while 99% scored below 200—demonstrating that there were no top performers in the cancelled sessions across the six affected states.

However, the release of the results has been overshadowed by fresh revelations of widespread malpractice involving candidates, school proprietors, and Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres.

The Board’s Chief External Examiners (CEEs), led by Prof. Olufemi Peters, Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), reviewed the resit exercise and brought in psychometrics expert Prof. Boniface Nworgu to validate the results before they were released.

Several critical resolutions were made during a nationwide meeting of CEEs, including the conditional release of results for underaged candidates, those involved in online “WhatsApp runs,” and some of those who missed the resit for valid reasons.

JAMB explained that underage candidates—many of whom had earlier acknowledged in writing that only those who meet academic standards would be considered for special admission—had their results released for record purposes only, and they remain ineligible for admission.

Similarly, candidates found to have engaged in academic misconduct using illicit WhatsApp groups and solicitation platforms were granted a one-time waiver.

The Board noted that it should not be misinterpreted as condoning wrongdoing, urging candidates to avoid anti-social and fraudulent networks.

A final opportunity has also been extended to absentee candidates, particularly those who missed both the main UTME and the resit, via the annual mop-up examination.

Meanwhile, several CBT centres have been blacklisted for serious examination infractions, including biometric data manipulation and impersonation facilitation.

JAMB said the proprietors of these centres will be prosecuted, and all individuals directly involved in the fraudulent activities are being tracked.

“Collusion of certain CBT centre/school proprietors (with the connivance of accredited centres) to hack the networks of targeted CBT centres, thereby gaining control of candidates’ computers and remotely submitting their responses to the relevant local server of the centre as recently discovered by the security agencies to whom we are profoundly grateful,” the statement read

The Board raised alarm over increasingly sophisticated cheating strategies discovered during the 2025 examination cycle. These include AI-enhanced photo manipulation to enable impersonation, hacking into CBT networks, using hidden “strong rooms” to extend local network coverage, and hiring “mercenaries” to sit exams for candidates.

“While some Nigerians are busy dissipating energies on conspiracy theories and spread of hatred, our future is being put in jeopardy by advanced level of digitalised fraud,” JAMB warned.

“During the 2025 examinations, further high level malpractices were uncovered, which led to the withdrawal of some results and the arrest of several culprits across the country some of whom we understand have made useful confessions.”

Over 3,000 candidates have been identified as having benefited from or participated in such fraudulent practices, and JAMB stated that their results will be withdrawn once investigations are concluded.

The Board also pushed back against tribal or sectional claims tied to the cancellation of sessions in six states, clarifying that no high scores were recorded in those sessions, as 99% of affected candidates scored below 200.

In another case that drew public attention, JAMB discredited a viral social media claim by one Olisa Gabriel Chukwuemeka, a first-year Public Health student at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), who falsely claimed to have scored 326 in the 2025 UTME.

Investigations showed that Chukwuemeka had doctored his 2024 UTME result of 203 to impersonate a high-performing 2025 score. His actual 2025 result, recorded in Lagos, was 180 and has since been withdrawn. Following the exposé, the student reportedly deactivated his X (formerly Twitter) account.

On complaints about result checking costs, JAMB clarified that its SMS shortcode service (55019/66019) is subsidised and designed to protect candidates’ personal data from cybercafés and third-party platforms.

Candidates were urged not to recheck already released results unless they receive a direct notification via SMS, email, or their JAMB profile indicating a withdrawal due to infractions.

JAMB expressed appreciation to Nigeria’s security agencies for their support in uncovering examination fraud. The Board also thanked WAEC, Ahmadu Bello University, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, and the National Examinations Council for adjusting their own exam schedules to accommodate the resit.

The Board commended the resilience of affected candidates and reaffirmed its commitment to a technology-driven, fair, and credible examination process. Despite mounting challenges, JAMB maintained that the CBT model remains the best option for curbing malpractice and modernising Nigeria’s education system.

Dr. Fabian Benjamin concluded the statement by urging Nigerians to unite in protecting the integrity of the country’s education system against increasingly sophisticated forms of cheating.