The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has arrested two candidates and a parent for allegedly falsifying results in the ongoing 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) using artificial intelligence and other electronic tools.
The disclosure was made on Friday, April 17, 2026, as the board began releasing results for candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, April 16.
JAMB said 632,788 candidates who wrote the test on the first day have had their results released in the initial phase of the exercise.
In a statement, JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said the suspects were apprehended after manipulating official result notifications sent through the board’s authorized SMS channels, with the aim of altering scores and deceiving recipients, including parents and guardians.
He confirmed that the two candidates and the parent are currently in custody and undergoing further investigation.
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Benjamin described the act as a serious criminal offense and warned that the board would ensure all those involved are prosecuted in accordance with the law.
He stressed that JAMB would not tolerate any attempt to compromise the credibility of its examination process.
The board also cautioned candidates against tampering with result messages issued through its official platforms, noting that authentic results can only be accessed via its designated SMS codes.
Candidates who participated in the April 16 examination have been advised to check their results by sending “UTMERESULT” via SMS to 55019 or 66019 using the phone number used for registration. JAMB added that the printing of official result slips will be enabled at a later stage.
The 2026 UTME commenced on Thursday, April 16, and is scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, April 22, with results to be released in batches as the nationwide examination continues.