The Nigerian Police Force and the Department of State Services in Abuja are presently holding at least 20 persons for allegedly hacking the servers that were used to administer the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s 2025 Computer-Based Test exams.
The suspects are thought to be members of a wider syndicate that consists of more than 100 people who specialize in breaking into the computer servers of important testing organizations, such as the National Examinations Council and JAMB.
According to security sources, the suspects have admitted to purposefully undermining the CBT systems in an effort to undermine JAMB and deter future computer-based tests for WAEC and NECO.
One of the reports claims that the accused acknowledged that the syndicate remotely infiltrated and controlled JAMB servers at specific CBT centers using specially created attacking software.
According to the source, the software was secretly put on routers near these centers in order to circumvent JAMB’s secure platforms.
These hackers’ tactic was to install routers close to specific CBT facilities. By granting remote access to JAMB systems, these routers made it possible for “special candidates” who had paid large sums of money to obtain exam answers.
“Candidates who benefitted from the illegal scheme reportedly paid between ₦700,000 and ₦2 million for high scores. Investigations have also revealed that several members of the syndicate are proprietors of private schools and tutorial centres, who use the proceeds to fund their so-called “special centres,” the source explained.
The widespread failure observed in the 2025 examinations is attributed to the ghost software’s distortion of exam data, which caused differences between the questions applicants answered and the ones that were actually shown on screen.
According to the source, the suspects were apprehended during coordinated operations in several states, including Lagos, Edo, Anambra, Kano, and Delta. The suspects’ identities are being kept secret until they are arraigned in court.
According to a different source, there is no proof of collusion against the seven JAMB officials who oversaw the service providers at the impacted CBT centers.
According to the source, there was no proof of collusion against the seven JAMB employees who oversaw the Service Providers at the two sites.
