JAMB admits error in UTME results affecting 379,997 candidates in Lagos and South-East zones

The development follows weeks of backlash from students, parents, and stakeholders who decried widespread technical issues and questionable results.

Speaking during a press conference held in Bwari, Abuja, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, admitted to the lapses recorded during the conduct of the exams.

Prof. Oloyede emotionally addressed the press, acknowledging the trauma caused to candidates and accepting full responsibility.

“I apologise for the trauma caused to the candidates and I take full responsibility for this,” he said.

Prof. Oloyede stated that the errors affected 157 centres across Lagos and Owerri zones.

“While 65 centres (206,610 candidates) were affected in Lagos zone (comprising only Lagos state), 92 centres (173,387 candidates) were affected in Owerri zone, which includes the South East states.”

He clarified that the issue was due to service providers’ failure to update delivery servers, an oversight that went unnoticed before the results were released.

“In clear terms, in the process of rectifying the issue, the technical personnel deployed by the Service Provider for LAG (Lagos and South-East zones) inadvertently failed to update some of the delivery servers. Regrettably, this oversight went undetected prior to the release of the results,” he stated

JAMB released the statistical breakdown of the 2025 UTME results, revealing that only 21.5% of candidates scored above 200, the minimum score generally accepted for university admission.

Some demanded that JAMB allow result verification or re-marking, citing discrepancies between their expected and actual outcomes.

Allegations also emerged of serious technical issues during the exams, such as malfunctioning systems, disappearing questions, and inaccessible sections.

This public outcry prompted JAMB to launch an urgent internal review.

According to Prof. Oloyede, the error stemmed from a technical issue involving JAMB’s internal operational structure during this year’s UTME.

However, the corrective update applied to LAG on Tuesday, April 29, led to patch errors in some centres in Lagos and the South East.

“On the second day of the examinations this year, which was Friday, April 25, 2025, we discovered that there was some omission in the items within the LAG category

“On the second day of the examinations this year, which was Friday, April 25, 2025, we discovered that there was some omission in the items within the LAG category

“To correct and re-upload the responses (i.e. results) from LAG for the pre-Tuesday glitch, the service providers concerned with LAG were deployed to effect the patch, but there were patch errors in some centres (servers) for the first three or four days in only two locations,” he stated

The JAMB Registrar expressed deep regret over the incident, stating that he holds himself personally responsible, including for the negligence on the part of the service provider

“As Registrar of JAMB, I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the service provider, and I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly. Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback for the Board’s reputation. We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values of transparency, fairness, and equity,” he said

Despite the controversy, JAMB noted that the 2025 UTME recorded the highest individual score in over 15 years, with a top mark of 374. However, the overall performance of candidates was lower than that of the previous year.