Table of Contents

UTME 2025: JAMB Delists 5 CBT Centers, Arrests 27 for Impersonation Scandal!

Amid the ongoing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), five computer-based test (CBT) centers were delisted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) due to technical issues.

The Board claimed in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, that the delisted centers, which were situated in the states of Kano, Sokoto, and Imo, had not met the Board’s minimal operational requirements.

Adventure Associate, located off Hadejia Road in Kano; Saadatu Rimi College of Education, located on Zaria Road in Naibawa, Kano; Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd., located at Center 1, 96km away from Tambuwal; Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, located at Center 2, 96km away from Tambuwal; and Soronara Venture Nigeria Limited, located at Foundation Road, Umudagu Mbieri, Imo State, are among the impacted centers.

In order to access their new centers and rescheduled dates, the board recommends that candidates who were previously scheduled to sit their exams at the delisted centers to immediately reprint their examination notification slips.

It said, “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but we will not accept excuses from candidates who do not reprint their slip to obtain their updated schedules.”

Over 900,000 candidates had successfully finished the UTME as of Friday, April 25, out of the 2,083,600 who had enrolled for the 2025 exam, it noted.

The statement went on to say, “We applaud the 883 centers that have shown outstanding performance and we firmly warn that any center that fails the technical or ethical standards, regardless of ownership, will be blacklisted.”

Imitation and arrests

The examination organization announced in a separate development that 27 people had been arrested for impersonation and that the suspects had been “turned over to the Nigeria Police for immediate prosecution.”

The arrests demonstrate the board’s growing efforts to prevent examination misconduct through biometric verification and surveillance.

Caleb University incident with the hijab

A recent scandal concerning candidates wearing hijabs at Caleb University in Lagos, one of the authorized UTME centers, was also addressed by JAMB.

A security staffer at the university unilaterally placed limitations on applicants who wore the hijab, according to the board. JAMB called this decision “unauthorized and misguided.”

The board noted that once the university’s vice chancellor intervened and vehemently denounced the action, the matter was promptly resolved.
“We sincerely apologize to the impacted candidates and commend the center’s and the university’s leadership for their swift action, which made sure that no candidate was unfairly disadvantaged,” the statement said.

Background

To be admitted to Nigerian higher institutions, applicants must take the UTME.

Though issues with capacity, technical difficulties, and malpractice have dogged the procedure in the past, JAMB accredits hundreds of CBT centers around the country to administer the tests each year.

In order to tackle these issues, JAMB has strengthened its control mechanisms, which now include biometric verification, center monitoring, and sanctions for violations.