The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has discovered at least 585 forged A’Level certificates in 2025 alone.
The Registrar of the Board, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this during a virtual meeting with JAMB staff in preparation for the 2025 Mock UTME and UTME.
Oloyede stated that the Nigeria Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (NIPED) was created to address the challenge.
“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has uncovered at least 585 A’Level forged certificates in 2025 alone. ]It was to curb this menace that the Nigeria Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (NIPED) was established,” Oloyede said.
The Registrar disclosed that a particularly troubling aspect of the discovery involved 13 forged Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) certificates, an advanced-level qualification that allows students to gain direct entry admission into 200-level (second-year) in Nigerian universities without sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted by JAMB.
Professional Registration Centres uploaded the forged certificates, and the cases are currently under investigation.
“Out of the 13 cases being investigated by the police, four culprits have been apprehended and are currently assisting the police and relevant authorities towards apprehending the ringleaders of these examination cartels,” Oloyede said
He also noted that initial findings from the investigations indicated the involvement of internal collaborators within institutions.
“Investigation revealed that there were internal collaborators in the institutions aiding and abetting this gross misconduct,” he said.
Oloyede also expressed concern over reports of candidates being extorted at some Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, where students were allegedly charged for services that should be free.
He described the case as “mind-boggling,” warning that such actions risk damaging the reputation and trust in the entire admission system.
“There were reports from some CBT centres on extortion of candidates for services expected to be free.”
He encouraged JAMB staff to stay dedicated and maintain the Board’s integrity. He warned them against any behaviour that could jeopardize the agency’s efforts.
