JAMB hands over 38 ‘fraudulent’ CBT centre owners for prosecution 

There was mild drama on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as some owners of accredited Computer Based Test (CBT) centre were handed over to security agents for prosecution for allegedly committing cyber crime.

The board had accused about 38 CBT centres owners of allegedly involving in infractions during the ongoing registration of candidates for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry examination, using the Virtual Private Network (VPN).
The board invited the CBT operators to a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday from where they were cornered and handed over to the police.

The meeting was attended by a representative from the office of the Inspector General of Police and other members of security agents as well as staff of the board.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who addressed reporters at the end of the meeting, said that the board, in its continuous effort to fight examination malpractice had decided to focus more on CBT centres and the infractions they commit from the point of the 2020 registration of candidates.
Oloyede explained that some of the crimes committed involved submission of fictitious names and fake NIN numbers to the board by the centre owners, as officers that would pertake in the exercise.
Some of the NIN numbers ,he added, included candidates numbers, duplicated and sent to the board as NIN for a registration officers, who were later discovered not existing.
He also said that some of the CBT owners extended the VPN on their computers already registered by the board, to extend the point of registration to undesignated locations.
He said: “As far as I am concerned, a prima facie case has been established against all involved and they will go and give their statements to the police.

Our present technology enables us to track all registeration officers, either adhoc or permanent JAMB staff through the National Identification Numbers (NIN).
“All designated computers used for the registration have also been duly registered by the board which enables tracking and has successfully led us to crimes committed by some of the centres.
“I appeal to candidates and their parents to go through the normal process of this exercise. Those who go to unaccredited centres, thinking it will work on their favour, would have themselves to blame.
“Our position remains to have the incoming generation have a better society.”
He said that all candidates who registered with the centres involved in the fraud may not be able to sit for the 2020 examinations because of the illegal process of their registration.
However, Oloyede said that the board may consider the fate of the candidates in due time to see how it may help some of the innocent victims.
He said that over 40 computers have so far been confiscated from their owners as evidence for the crimes.