Nigerian Graduates Accuse JAMB and Police of Arrest and Extortion Over Fake Admission Claims
Several Nigerian university graduates have cried out, accusing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) of working with police officers to arrest and extort them. These students said they were only trying to correct issues with their admission records, but instead, they were labelled as having “fake admissions” and treated like criminals.
The affected graduates said the problem started when the word “fake admission” appeared on their JAMB CAPS profile shortly before their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation. After following JAMB’s advice to visit their nearest office, many said they were arrested and asked to pay large sums of money to be released.
One graduate shared that his friend who went to the JAMB headquarters in Abuja was detained and forced to pay over N200,000. Another said he was arrested near the JAMB office in Abeokuta and made to pay N50,000. He even said the police brought a POS operator so he could transfer the money quickly before they collected the cash.
The most shocking case involved a student who claimed he was asked to pay N500,000 for his release. He said he couldn’t believe he was being asked to pay such an amount just for trying to fix his admission issue. Many of the students affected were admitted into top universities like Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Lagos State University (LASU), and more.
These students said they followed the proper steps by taking the UTME, getting admitted by their schools, and later doing admission regularisation as instructed. They also received official admission letters from JAMB. But just before their NYSC mobilisation in 2024, their status changed on CAPS, and they were suddenly flagged without any warning.
According to the graduates, when they went to the JAMB offices as instructed, instead of getting help, they were arrested. They said it was unfair and that they were being punished for problems caused by JAMB’s system. Some said they were told hackers had tampered with the database, but instead of fixing it, the board used police to harass innocent students.
JAMB, however, has denied these claims. The board’s spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, explained that anyone who didn’t get admission through their official system would not be recognised. He said if students got in through other means, JAMB could not issue them official letters.
Dr Benjamin also mentioned that some people were caught using fake documents to claim admission and that JAMB is only targeting those involved in fraud. He said he was not aware of any police arrest involving real students who followed the rules but couldn’t go for NYSC.
The affected students are now calling on the Federal Government and the Ministry of Education to step in. They want this alleged harassment to stop and their names cleared. They insist they did nothing wrong and just want to serve their country like every other graduate.
