DSS, Police arrest 20 suspects over alleged hacking of 2025 UTME CBT servers

Twenty suspects have been arrested in Abuja by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Police Force for allegedly hacking the 2025 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Computer-Based Test (CBT) examinations.

Security sources reveal that the suspects belong to a larger syndicate of over 100 individuals specializing in breaching the computer servers of examination bodies, including JAMB and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

The suspects reportedly confessed to sabotaging the CBT system with the intent to discredit JAMB and discourage students from using computer-based testing for future exams administered by NECO and the West African Examination Council (WAEC).

The hacking scheme was designed to inflate scores for selected candidates who paid between ₦700,000 and ₦2 million to the syndicate.

Investigations further revealed that several members of the syndicate operate private schools and colleges, earning substantial profits through their special centres.

This development follows the release of the 2025 UTME results two weeks ago, where an analysis showed that over 78% of candidates scored below 200 out of a maximum of 400 points.

On May 14, JAMB Registrar Ishaq Oloyede announced that the results of 379,997 candidates across 157 centres in Lagos and the South-East zones were compromised due to faulty server updates that prevented candidate responses from being uploaded during the first three days of the examination.

Oloyede explained that the technical issue, caused by one of JAMB’s service providers, went unnoticed until after results were released. Consequently, a resit examination was conducted from May 16, extending beyond May 19.