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Twenty suspects have been arrested for hacking JAMB’s 2025 CBT servers in a coordinated fraud scheme involving over 100 individuals nationwide.
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The suspects allegedly used ghost software and planted routers to manipulate exam content, charging candidates up to ₦2 million for guaranteed high scores.
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While no JAMB officials have been implicated, the scandal has sparked national outrage and demands for an overhaul of digital exam security systems.
In a major crackdown on examination fraud, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force have arrested at least 20 individuals in connection with the hacking of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, servers used during the 2025 Computer-Based Test (CBT) examinations.
The suspects, currently in custody in Abuja, are believed to be part of a larger syndicate of over 100 individuals allegedly involved in systematically sabotaging high-stakes national exams.
The arrests follow months of intelligence gathering and coordinated raids in multiple states, including Lagos, Edo, Kano, Anambra, and Delta. Investigators say the suspects admitted to infiltrating JAMB’s servers using custom-built software and covert hardware installations designed to manipulate exam content and assist pre-selected candidates.
“These individuals used routers planted near CBT centres to remotely access JAMB systems,” a security source revealed. “They installed what we call ghost software—tools capable of distorting exam data so candidates saw one question on-screen but answered another entirely.”
JAMB ‘special centres’ and high fees fuel shadow industry in exam fraud
The elaborate scheme is part of a growing and lucrative underground industry of “special centres,” often run by proprietors of private schools and tutorial centres who guarantee high scores in national exams—for a fee. According to investigators, candidates paid between ₦700,000 and ₦2 million for access to the fraud network, which ensured they received live answers or easier questions through tampered systems.
“The motive was not just financial but also political,” another source added. “The group aimed to discredit JAMB and push for a return to manual exams by sabotaging public confidence in computer-based testing.”
According to Punch, the manipulation of exam data caused widespread discrepancies during the 2025 examination cycle, leading to an unusual volume of complaints from students and parents over technical glitches, mismatched questions, and mass failure reports. JAMB has since begun reviewing several results and flagged suspicious CBT centres for further investigation.
In addition to disrupting the integrity of the examination process, authorities are examining the financial and criminal infrastructure supporting the syndicate. Several suspects arrested are linked to well-funded tutorial networks and were reportedly using the proceeds to expand fraudulent operations nationwide.
“This isn’t a few bad actors—we are dealing with a nationwide criminal enterprise with funding, logistics, and insider intelligence,” said one law enforcement official.
So far, no JAMB staff have been implicated in the scandal. According to sources close to the investigation, the seven officials who supervised service providers at the affected centres have been cleared of wrongdoing. “No case of complicity has been established against JAMB personnel at this stage,” the official confirmed.
The case has raised new concerns about the security infrastructure of Nigeria’s computer-based examination systems and whether current measures are robust enough to prevent similar breaches in future. Education stakeholders are now calling for an independent security audit of JAMB and other testing bodies, including WAEC and NECO.
“If we cannot secure our examination platforms, we risk undermining the entire future of merit-based education,” said Professor Angela Adebayo, an education policy expert. “The credibility of our exams is at stake.”
The suspects are expected to be arraigned in court in the coming weeks. Authorities say more arrests are likely as investigations continue and additional members of the syndicate are identified.
