By Omowumi Omotosho
The Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force have arrested no fewer than 20 individuals suspected of hacking the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results conducted via the Computer-Based Test (CBT) system.
The exam, which was organized by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), appears to have been the target of a coordinated cyber-attack. According to a report by AIT, the arrested individuals are believed to be part of a much larger network reportedly numbering over 100, known for breaching the digital infrastructure of educational bodies such as JAMB and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
Security agencies revealed that the suspects admitted to deliberately compromising the CBT platform. Their objective, the report says, was to undermine JAMB’s credibility and deter the use of computer-based testing for future exams managed by NECO and the West African Examinations 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 coordinated cyber-attack was aimed at manipulating UTME scores in favor of so-called “special candidates,” who reportedly paid hefty sums ranging from N700,000 to as much as N2 million for guaranteed high marks.
Further findings indicated that many individuals within the syndicate are proprietors of private schools and tutorial centres. These institutions, acting as “special centres,” are said to generate substantial profits by promising and delivering inflated results through fraudulent means.
