The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that no fewer than 40 individuals have been arrested and are facing prosecution for impersonating candidates during the ongoing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Meanwhile, many parents and guardians have expressed frustration over the 6:30 am resumption time required for the examination, arguing that it places an undue burden on candidates, many of whom must travel long distances to their centres.
The 2025 UTME, which began on Thursday, April 24, is scheduled to run until Monday, May 5, with over 2,030,627 candidates sitting for the exam across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
A mother living in Awoyaya, Lekki, Lagos, lamented that her 14-year-old son was posted to a centre in Ikorodu, making it nearly impossible for him to meet the 6:30 am check-in time without setting out around 4 am. She described the situation as "wickedness" and urged JAMB to reconsider the early schedule.
Similarly, a guardian, Olaoluwa Yinka, complained on X (formerly Twitter) that his younger sister had to travel from Abeokuta to Ijebu Igbo for a 6:30 am exam, calling the situation "absurd." Another user, Lucas Oluwadare, shared that his sister had to relocate temporarily to meet her exam schedule, criticizing what he termed the "anyhowness" of the system.
Activist Rinu Oduala also condemned the early scheduling, questioning how teenagers were expected to travel over 50 km to exam centres at such early hours.
Another parent, Nnem Chacha-Gold, recounted having to escort her daughter from Ejigbo to Ikorodu before dawn. She noted that parents were turned away from the centres and expressed dismay over reports of candidates sleeping outside overnight to meet the early check-in requirements.
In a related incident, a 16-year-old candidate, Esther Oladele, was reported missing after attempting to travel from Ajah to Epe for her exam. Her brother, Richard, said she mistakenly boarded the wrong bus and later sent a distress message before losing contact. After nearly 48 hours, Esther was found in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, in poor condition but safe. The family expressed deep gratitude to the public for their support in locating her.
On the issue of impersonation, JAMB spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, lamented the persistence of malpractice despite efforts to sanitize the examination process. He noted that while other countries have successfully conducted centralised examinations remotely, Nigeria’s prevailing conditions make such innovations impractical.
"If Nigerians were transparent, we could easily conduct these exams at home. Other countries are doing it, but it’s currently not feasible here," Benjamin stated.
UTME Starts at 8 am, Not 6 am — JAMB
Addressing the confusion over exam times, Benjamin clarified that the UTME begins at 8 am daily, not at 6 am or 6:30 am as many candidates and parents had misunderstood.
In an interview on Saturday, he explained that candidates are required to arrive by 6:30 am for necessary pre-examination checks and preparations, but the actual examination does not commence until 8 am.
"Our exams start at 8 am. There is no examination at 6 or 6:30 am," he said. "Arriving early is for logistics and checks. If we only tell them 8 am, many will stroll in late."
Benjamin also argued that since daybreak typically occurs around 6 am in Nigeria, it is safe for candidates to set out early. However, he emphasized that late arrivals could miss the examination entirely as they would be unable to complete necessary preliminary processes.
