UTME: 50 exam contractors held

FIFTY professional examination writers have been arrested in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said yesterday.

The board said the impostors were arrested nationwide following its intelligence gathering mechanism.

JAMB’s spokesperson Fabian Benjamin made the revelation in the agency’s weekly bulletin.

Fabian identified some of the professional examination writers as Masters’ degree holders, postgraduate and undergraduate students of various tertiary institutions in the country.

He said the professional writers connived with owners and operators of Computer Based Test Centres (CBTs) 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 bulletin reads: “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.

“Some of the fraudsters are Masters’ Degree holders, postgraduate and undergraduate students of tertiary institutions.

“The modus operandi of these UTME syndicates was confirmed when one of the kingpins was apprehended recently.”

Dr. Fabian 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.

The bulletin further said: “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.”

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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.