Five Face Prosecution Over Forged Admission Letters for Over 17,000 Candidates

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the prosecution of five individuals accused of orchestrating a large-scale admission fraud involving 17,417 fake tertiary institution admission letters. According to Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s spokesperson, the suspects confessed to their involvement and are currently facing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Their arrests were made possible through a collaborative effort between JAMB and the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre.

Investigations revealed that a total of 17,417 candidates were implicated in the scam. Of these, 6,903 candidates were cleared after correcting minor discrepancies in their records between 2024 and May 2025. However, 10,514 others were referred to designated police investigation offices. Among those referred, 5,669 candidates were found to have used forged admission letters.

JAMB also disclosed that 4,832 of the affected candidates had been admitted through channels not initially disclosed to the board and were undergoing a regularisation process granted under a ministerial waiver for admissions between 2017 and 2020. Some of these candidates, however, resorted to using the fraudulent syndicate instead of following the official procedure.

Additionally, 13 cases were flagged due to actions or omissions by the candidates themselves, with 12 of those cases dating back to 2017—the year JAMB introduced the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). CAPS was implemented to streamline and authenticate admissions, and any admission offered outside this platform has since been deemed illegal.

JAMB reiterated its warning that candidates who seek shortcuts by engaging examination or certificate fraud syndicates will be prosecuted. The board emphasized that any deviation from official processes for registration, examination, or admission will carry serious consequences. Since 2020, JAMB no longer regularises admissions conducted outside CAPS, reinforcing its stance against irregular 5practices.