The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is facing public criticism following allegations of suspected foul play involving the highest scorer in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Chinedu Okeke, who scored an impressive 375 marks.

 

The controversy arose after an education technology expert and CEO of Educare, Alex Onyia, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday to shed light on what he described as a serious misunderstanding surrounding Okeke’s result.

 

During JAMB’s 2025 policy meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, the board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, stated that the board “suspected foul play” in Okeke’s result. The board claimed that Okeke, who hails from Anambra State and applied to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, had previously been admitted to study Medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in 2024.

 

However, Onyia countered the claims, revealing that Okeke was one of many candidates affected by a widely reported systems glitch during the 2025 UTME. The issue led to a reprinting of his examination slip and his eventual participation in a repeat exam—where he scored the highest mark recorded nationwide.

 

Onyia traced the root of the confusion to 2021, when incorrect personal details were imported from the National Identification Number (NIN) platform into JAMB’s database. He clarified that the errors were corrected through JAMB’s official data correction process that same year and that Okeke’s current profile reflects accurate, verified information.

 

“Chinedu filled out all the required documents properly, and his updated details were transmitted to JAMB. The inconsistencies were not his fault,” Onyia explained.

 

He further urged JAMB to carry out a comprehensive investigation and consider issuing a public apology to Okeke for casting doubt on his integrity.

 

Meanwhile, the situation has sparked heated debates online, with many Nigerians calling for transparency and fairness from the examination body in handling such sensitive matters.