JAMB Releases First UTME 2026 Results, Arrests 3 for AI Fraud

Nigeria's Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board released results on Friday for 632,788 candidates who took the first day of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, while announcing the arrest of two candidates and one parent for allegedly using artificial intelligence and electronic tools to falsify scores.

The examination, a key gateway for university admissions, began on April 16 and is set to continue until April 22 at computer-based test centers across the country. Approximately 2.24 million candidates registered for the test, with sessions held in multiple batches daily. The board stated that results for the initial group, who sat the exam on Thursday, became available the following day through official channels.

Candidates can access their scores by sending "UTMERESULT" via SMS to 55019 or 66019 using the phone number registered for the exam. Officials emphasized that only scores are viewable at this stage, with printing of official result slips to be enabled later. The board plans to release additional results in batches as the testing progresses.

In a statement, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin detailed the arrests, which occurred on the same day as the...