Abuja — The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has confirmed that a critical server oversight and human error were responsible for the invalidation of results for 379,997 candidates in Lagos and the South-East during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a detailed statement presented during an emergency technical review on Wednesday at JAMB’s headquarters in Abuja, the board disclosed that a failure to uniformly deploy server updates led to mismatches in how candidate responses were validated and scored.
The board, in collaboration with independent technology partner Educare Technical Team, analysed over 15,000 response logs from affected candidates, confirming that 157 centres — 65 in Lagos and 92 across the South-East — were impacted due to outdated server logic.
“This was not a system-wide failure or an act of manipulation,” said JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, during an emotional press briefing. “It was a clear case of human error, and we take full responsibility.”
According to JAMB, the technical issue originated from the uneven deployment of a server patch critical to the new answer submission structure introduced in the 2025 UTME. While updates were correctly applied to servers in Kaduna, they were omitted in the Lagos cluster, which services several states beyond Lagos, including much of the South-East.
Affected Candidates to Resit Exam
Oloyede announced that all affected candidates would be required to retake their examinations starting Friday, May 16, 2025. Candidates will be contacted directly via SMS through the phone numbers linked to their UTME profiles.
“In simple terms, 206,610 candidates in Lagos and 173,387 in the South-East are affected,” the registrar stated. “We owe them and their families not just an apology but a chance to right this wrong — and that we shall do.”
Public Reactions: Demands for Resignation
Despite the board’s transparency, backlash followed swiftly. Critics, including education analysts and social media commentators, have called for Oloyede’s resignation.
“Emotions don’t fix systems,” said analyst Jacob Sule on X. “Oloyede should step aside to allow an independent investigation.”
Others were more scathing. “Instead of crocodile tears, Oloyede should have resigned,” wrote user @MrGatsby. Another, @abolajijnr, added, “Someone lost her life already. Oloyede should be in jail.”
Parents, PTA Demand Accountability
Meanwhile, parents of underage candidates whose results have yet to be released are demanding answers. Several allege that JAMB is deliberately withholding results from candidates under the age of 16.
“My daughter sat for the exam. Why deny her the result simply because she’s underage?” questioned Mrs. Abiodun Ashimolowo.
The President of the Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (PTA), Mr. Danjuma Haruka, praised JAMB’s transparency but urged for greater clarity.
“We are willing to accept the apology, but we need to know what went wrong and how it will be prevented next time,” Haruka stated.
Way Forward
The error, first discovered on April 25, led to immediate internal audits. By April 28, a correction patch had been developed and tested, but the board chose transparency over quiet remediation.
“This review signifies JAMB’s resolve to uphold the sanctity of its examination processes,” the board’s technical report stated.
JAMB also pledged to implement stronger deployment validation protocols and real-time monitoring systems to avoid similar occurrences in the future.
As the dust settles, the affected candidates now prepare for a resit, hoping for a fair chance to reclaim their academic ambitions.