By Funmilayo Adeyemi

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the release of results from its mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted on June 28.

In a statement signed by JAMB’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin, in Abuja on Sunday, the board also provided an update on its ongoing crackdown on a widespread fake admission letter syndicate.

Benjamin said, of the 96,838 candidates slated for the mop-up examination, results had been released for 11,161 candidates who sat for the test.

He urged candidates who were unable to access their results to ensure they follow the prescribed procedure.

The procedure, according to him is by sending the text, “UTMERESULT” (as one word) to 55019 or 66019 using the same phone number they registered with, for the UTME.

He added that non-compliance with this requirement has been identified as the main reason some candidates cannot access their scores.

Meanwhile, JAMB has also offered a detailed update on efforts to dismantle a syndicate engaged in the production of fake JAMB admission letters for a fee.

Benjamin disclosed that an investigation, carried out with the support of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), led to the arrest of five ringleaders who had confessed to producing and distributing forged admission letters.

The suspects, he said, are currently being prosecuted at the Federal High Court in Abuja in the case titled, Inspector General of Police vs Effa Leonard and Four Others.

He revealed that the syndicate’s activities implicated a total of 17,417 candidates flagged as beneficiaries.

“Between 2024 and May 2025, JAMB cleared 6,903 of these candidates after they rectified minor discrepancies.

“However, 10,514 candidates were referred to designated police investigation offices.

“Of these, 5,669 were confirmed to have procured forged admission letters outrightly.

“Another 4,832 were found to have tried to bypass the Board’s formal process for undisclosed admissions (typically covered by a 2017–2020 ministerial waiver) by resorting to the syndicate,” he said.

Additionally, he said 13 other candidates were flagged due to individual acts of omission or commission.

“Twelve of these cases date back to 2017 when the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) was introduced.

“The flagged candidates are spread across institutions including Bayero University Kano (2), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (2).

“Others are, one each from Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, Federal University of Technology Akure, Ekiti State University, Yaba College of Technology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Osun State Polytechnic Ire, Ben Idahosa University, Obong University, and the University of Ilorin,” he added.

He, however, said that following its management meeting on July 5, 2025, JAMB resolved to give the 13 candidates an opportunity to rectify the specific anomalies in their records and print new admission letters.

According to him, they will be added to the batch of 6,903 whose cases were previously condoned.

“Furthermore, the Board announced that 1,532 candidates, who claimed they were unaware of the syndicate’s role in facilitating their admission letters and whose institutions eventually processed their condonement properly, would be formally warned but ultimately condoned.

“However, 3,300 candidates remain under investigation for allegedly securing admissions that were neither legitimate nor properly processed by their claimed institutions,” he explained.

Benjamin warned that the Board’s screening processes would continue rigorously.

He said that any candidate found to have engaged in or solicited help from examination or certificate fraudsters would face consequences under the Examination Malpractices Act.

This, he said, would include possible prosecution, with penalties applicable even to minors and their culpable guardians or parents.

“The Board remains committed to upholding the integrity of the admission process and ensuring that only duly qualified candidates gain access to tertiary education in Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi