The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says police have rearrested Emmanuel Akataka, a 26-year-old suspect, who confessed to defrauding 94 candidates during the unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) registration.
Speaking on Thursday at the JAMB headquarters in Abuja, Ishaq Oloyede, the board’s registrar, said Akataka is a key member of a syndicate involved in “criminal conspiracy, impersonation, identity theft, online fraud, and other related offences targeted at unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) candidates.”
Represented by Zainab Hamza, JAMB’s director of special duties, the registrar disclosed that Akataka had previously been arrested for operating under a fictitious identity, “Official Frederick”, through which he ran a WhatsApp platform offering fake services such as score inflation.
Through this scheme, he deceived no fewer than 94 candidates into soliciting score enhancement by paying for this illegal and non-existent service,” he said.
The affected candidates were given a fair hearing by the board and had the opportunity to appear before a special committee to establish their innocence.”
The JAMB registrar said the board subsequently sought and obtained the approval of Tunji Alausa, the minister of education, to cancel the affected candidates’ registrations, while Akataka was granted bail in line with due legal process.
However, after his release, Oloyede said the suspect re-established contact with the same candidates.
Oloyede added that this time, under the alias “Sir Frederick”, Akataka was demanding N70,000 from each candidate and falsely claiming he could prevent the cancellation of their registrations because he was allegedly “in contact” with the board.
According to him, investigations further revealed that the suspect initially used his father’s bank account, bearing the name Vincent Okpowho Akataka, to collect payments.
“Upon suspecting that this could expose him, he opened another account with SmartCash under the name Zainab Rafiu, falsely presented as a director of JAMB, to lend credibility to his fraudulent scheme,” he added.
The JAMB registrar expressed concern that the same candidates could fall victim to another fraudulent scheme.
This troubling pattern raises serious concerns about the growing willingness among some candidates to pursue unlawful advantage, rather than exercise the judgement and integrity expected of them,” Oloyede said.
He described the conduct as not only criminal but also illustrative of the deceptive and exploitative nature of such syndicates.
“JAMB has reiterated that no individual or group can influence UTME results, facilitate special assistance, or manipulate candidate registration under any circumstance,” he added.
“The public is therefore reminded that any claim of score enhancement or examination assistance is fraudulent. Engagement with such schemes constitutes a violation of the law.
