The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the arrest of two candidates and a parent for falsifying 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results using artificial intelligence and other electronic tools.
The announcement came on Friday, when the board disclosed scores for 632,788 candidates who took the exam on Thursday, April 16.
In a statement, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin said the suspects were nabbed for using official SMS result announcements to fake or manipulate scores with the purpose to deceive others, including parents and guardians.
“Currently, two candidates and one parent are in custody for engaging in result falsification using AI and other electronic means,” the statement read.
Benjamin cautioned that such activity constituted a major criminal offense and that the board would prosecute all responsible parties to the fullest extent of the law.
He also warned candidates not to tamper with results messages from JAMB’s official SMS platforms, 55019 and 66019.
Candidates who took the exam on Thursday can check their results by submitting UTMERESULT by SMS to 55019 or 66019, using the phone number associated with their registration. Official result slip printing is currently unavailable but will be made accessible at a later date.
The 2026 UTME began on April 16 and is slated to go until April 22 across test centers nationwide. Results will be issued in batches as the exercise progresses.
