2025 UTME: 20 arrested for hacking JAMB CBT servers

In a major breakthrough, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force have arrested no fewer than 20 individuals linked to the hacking of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) computer-based test (CBT) system—raising fresh concerns about the credibility of national examinations in Nigeria.

The arrests come after weeks of joint investigations that uncovered a sophisticated syndicate of over 100 members believed to have infiltrated the systems of major examination bodies, including the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

According to intelligence reports, the suspects—currently in custody have confessed to intentionally sabotaging JAMB’s CBT infrastructure in a bid to undermine the credibility of the board and discourage other examination bodies like NECO and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) from adopting similar digital platforms.

A security source quoted by AIT revealed that the syndicate deployed malicious software into JAMB’s hardware, granting them remote access to the agency’s servers, especially during live examinations at compromised CBT centres.

The core objective of the hacking operation was to fraudulently inflate UTME scores for ‘special candidates’ who reportedly paid between N700,000 and N2 million for guaranteed high marks.

Further investigations revealed that many of the suspects are proprietors of private schools and tutorial centres, which served as fronts for the illicit operations. These institutions reportedly ran special centres designed to rake in huge profits by manipulating examination processes.

Authorities say the arrests mark the beginning of a broader crackdown, as security agencies intensify efforts to apprehend more members of the syndicate and dismantle their operations nationwide.