The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced the arrest of two candidates and a parent for allegedly falsifying 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination results using artificial intelligence and other electronic tools, as it warned that anyone found culpable would face prosecution.
JAMB disclosed the arrests on Friday while releasing the results of 632,788 candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, April 16. The board said the suspects were apprehended after manipulating official SMS result notifications in an attempt to fabricate or alter scores and mislead parents, guardians and members of the public.
JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin, in a statement, described the act as a serious criminal offence and said the board would ensure that all those involved were made to face the full weight of the law. “Currently, two candidates and one parent are in custody for engaging in result falsification using AI and other electronic means,” he said.
The development highlights growing concerns about the use of emerging technologies to manipulate examination processes in Nigeria, even after candidates have completed their papers. Rather than hacking JAMB’s system itself, the suspects were accused of tampering with result messages sent to candidates through the board’s official short codes in order to create fake score records that appeared genuine.
JAMB warned candidates against altering result messages sent through its approved SMS platforms, 55019 and 66019, stressing that only messages received through the phone number used at registration should be trusted. The board advised candidates who wrote the examination on Thursday to check their scores by sending “UTMERESULT” via SMS to either 55019 or 66019 using the same SIM linked to their registration.
The board added that the 2026 UTME is still ongoing and that more results will be released in batches as marking and processing continue.
The arrests come as JAMB continues to present itself as taking a tougher line on examination malpractice, especially schemes that rely on digital deception rather than traditional cheating methods. For candidates and parents already anxious about results, the incident also serves as a warning that any attempt to falsify scores, even outside the examination hall, can attract criminal consequences.
