Five individuals accused of breaching the computer systems of Nigeria’s university admissions body during the 2026 entrance examinations are set to face trial, following the filing of criminal charges by police authorities.
The case, brought by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) before the Federal High Court in Abuja, centres on allegations that the suspects unlawfully accessed the servers of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) during the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) computer-based tests.
According to court documents filed on 22 May, prosecutors laid six counts against the defendants, accusing them of cybercrime-related offences, examination malpractice and organised cheating.
The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/300/2026, was filed through prosecuting counsel Faith Dimka and assigned to Justice Musa Liman.
Police identified the defendants as Ojiyovwi Miracle, Goodluck Ovuijeddo, Dennis Uvietesivwi, Ransome Monday and Hilda Ejohwemu, all residents of Delta State.
Prosecutors alleged that the group conspired to gain unauthorised access to a protected computer network, remotely infiltrating JAMB’s server infrastructure during the April 2026 UTME.
The charge sheet claims that specialised software, identified as RADMI, was covertly installed on more than 200 examination systems used nationwide.
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Once deployed, investigators allege the software allowed the systems to be operated remotely for fraudulent purposes, while extracting data described as sensitive and relevant to national security.
Further counts accuse the suspects of deliberately altering and suppressing examination data to cause financial loss to JAMB while securing unlawful economic benefit for themselves.
The prosecution also alleged coordinated efforts to obtain examination questions through deceptive means and to facilitate malpractice by other candidates during the test.
Counts relating to unlawful system access and computer fraud fall under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended in 2024, while allegations tied to examination malpractice are grounded in the Examination Malpractice Act.
However, proceedings were halted when the matter was mentioned in court on Thursday.
Justice Liman observed that, since all defendants are based in Delta State, the case would be more efficiently handled by the Federal High Court’s division in that state.
Both the prosecution and defence teams agreed with the recommendation.
The judge subsequently ordered that the case file be returned to the court’s central registry for transfer to the Delta Division, where the suspects are expected to be arraigned.
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