Fifty professional examination writers who sit for candidates in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) have been arrested, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has revealed.
The board said the impostors were arrested nationwide following its intelligence gathering mechanism.
JAMB’s Spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in the agency’s weekly bulletin.
Benjamin identified some of the professional examination writers as Master’s degree holders, postgraduate and undergraduate students of various tertiary institutions in the country.
He said the professional writers connived with owners and operators of its Computer Based Test Centres (CBT) to carry out the crime by engaging in multiple registrations where the fingerprints of the main candidates are captured side by side with that of the impostors.
“The board has uncovered a group of professional examination writers who take the exams for prospective candidates for a fee.
“As a result of intelligence gathering, over 50 of such writers have been arrested across the country.
“The modus operandi of these UTME syndicates was confirmed when one of the kingpins was apprehended recently,” the bulletin said.
He said the culprit confessed to have done multiple registrations of his biometric along with several other candidates with the intention of sitting for them and collecting huge sums of money from the candidates.
“This Development is the fundamental reason for the decision of the board to revalidate all biometrics of candidates that have taken the board’s examination in recent times.
“This timely action would enable the board to not only fish out and dismantle these registration cartels and racketeers but also bring them to book along with their collaborators,” the bulletin said.
Also, Fabian said 1, 236, 316 candidates out of the 1.8 million registered has so far taken the examination.
“A total of 1,886,238 UTME candidates are expected to sit nationwide. And, 1,236,316 candidates have so far taken their examination,” it added.
