In a statement released by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, the Board stated that these five centres, located across Kano, Sokoto, and Imo states, failed to meet JAMB's stipulated minimum operational standards for conducting the crucial examination.
The affected CBT centres are:
- Adventure Associate, Off Hadejia Road, Kano
- Saadatu Rimi College of Education, Zaria Road, Naibawa, Kano
- Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, Centre 1, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal, Sokoto State
- Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd, Centre 2, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal, Sokoto State
- Soronara Ventured Nigeria Limited, Foundation Road, Umudagu Mbieri, Imo State
JAMB has urgently advised candidates who were originally scheduled to take their UTME at these now-delisted centres to immediately reprint their examination notification slips. This reprinting will provide them with details of their new examination centres and the rescheduled dates for their tests.
"We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but we will not tolerate excuses by candidates who fail to reprint their slip to get their new schedules," the Board firmly stated.
The statement also provided an update on the progress of the examination, noting that as of Friday, April 25th, over 900,000 candidates out of the total 2,083,600 registered for the 2025 UTME had successfully completed their examinations.
JAMB Commends Performing Centres, Warns Others
"We commend the 883 centres that have demonstrated exceptional performance and we unequivocally warn that any centre which failed the ethical or technical standards, regardless of ownership, will be blacklisted," JAMB added, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining the integrity of the examination process.
Crackdown on Impersonation Leads to Arrests
In a separate but related development, JAMB disclosed that 27 individuals have been apprehended for engaging in impersonation during the examination. The Board stated that these suspects have been "handed over to the Nigeria Police for immediate prosecution." These arrests underscore JAMB's intensified efforts in utilizing biometric verification and enhanced surveillance measures to effectively combat examination malpractice.
Resolution of Hijab Incident at Caleb University
JAMB also addressed a recent controversy that arose at Caleb University in Lagos, one of the approved UTME centres, concerning candidates wearing hijabs. The Board clarified that a security official at the institution had unilaterally imposed restrictions on candidates wearing hijabs, a decision JAMB unequivocally described as "unauthorised and misguided."
The Board commended the swift intervention of the Vice-Chancellor of Caleb University, who promptly condemned the security official's action, leading to a quick resolution of the issue. "We extend our sincere apologies to the affected candidates and commend the leadership of both the centre and the university for their prompt intervention, which ensured that no candidate suffered undue disadvantage," JAMB stated.
Efforts to Enhance UTME Integrity
The UTME remains a critical mandatory examination for students seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions. Annually, JAMB accredits numerous CBT centres across the country to facilitate the examination process. However, past years have been marked by concerns regarding centre capacity, technical glitches, and instances of malpractice.
In response to these persistent challenges, JAMB has progressively strengthened its control measures. These measures include rigorous monitoring of examination centres, the implementation of stringent biometric verification processes for candidates, and the imposition of strict penalties for any identified infractions, as evidenced by the recent delisting of centres and arrests for impersonation. These ongoing efforts aim to ensure a fair and credible examination process for all candidates.