The Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force have arrested at least 20 individuals in connection with the hacking of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) computer-based test (CBT), raising serious concerns about the integrity of national examinations.
The arrests follow a coordinated investigation into a sophisticated syndicate believed to include over 100 members who specialise in hacking servers of major examination bodies such as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
According to reports, the suspects, now in custody, have confessed to deliberately sabotaging JAMB’s CBT system. Their aim, investigators say, was to discredit JAMB and discourage the use of CBT platforms by other examination bodies like NECO and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).
A security source quoted by AIT explained that the syndicate’s strategy involved installing malicious software on JAMB hardware. The software enabled remote access to JAMB servers, particularly during examinations at targeted CBT centres.
The hacking was primarily used to manipulate UTME scores in favour of special candidates who reportedly paid between N700,000 and N2 million to be guaranteed high scores.
Preliminary investigations also revealed that several members of the syndicate own private schools and colleges, which they use as fronts for their illegal operations. These institutions are said to operate special centres that generate large profits from compromised examinations.
Authorities say the arrests are just the beginning, as the investigation continues to identify other syndicate members and dismantle the network.
