JAMB shuts down 38 computer centres across Nigeria

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has shut down 38 Computer Centres where candidates wishing to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination ought to register.

The affected centres are in Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Delta, Katsina, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo and Rivers.

Three centres in Adamawa, Delta and Enugu were also asked by JAMB to suspend the registration process over allegation of extortion of candidates either directly or by proxy.

Four other CBT centres in Gombe, Niger, Osun, and Zamfara were directed to stop registration for technical deficiency during third party examination.

Some suspects were handed over to security agencies at the JAMB headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, on Wednesday.

The board had invited the Computer-Based Test centre operators to a meeting from where they were cornered and handed over to the police.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede said that the board, in its continuous effort to fight examination malpractice had decided to focus more on CBT centres and the infractions they committed.

Oloyede explained that the crimes included submission of fictitious names and fake National Identity numbers by the centre owners.

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 registration officers, either ad hoc or permanent JAMB staff through the National Identification Numbers.

“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.”