The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has raised concerns over possible irregularities in the UTME result of Chinedu Okeke, the candidate initially announced as the highest scorer in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed during the board’s 2025 Policy Meeting held in Abuja that Okeke, an Anambra State indigene who applied to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos, scored 375 — the highest in this year’s UTME.
However, Oloyede noted that upon further scrutiny of JAMB records, it was discovered that Okeke had already been admitted into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), a year earlier, to study Medicine.
JAMB contacted UNN for clarification, and the university confirmed that Okeke is a registered medical student and is currently in good academic standing.
Reacting to the development, JAMB’s Public Communications Adviser, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said the board suspects foul play in Okeke’s recent UTME participation.
"The law does not allow a student to matriculate twice. As an existing undergraduate, he has an academic advantage over other candidates who wrote the exam," Benjamin said.
He further noted discrepancies in the candidate's data. "One record shows he is from the South-East, while another lists Lagos State as his origin. We are suspecting he may have acted as a mercenary in the examination," he added.
Meanwhile, JAMB released the names of other top-performing candidates in the 2025 UTME:
- John Ayuba (Gombe State) – 374
- Olayinka Jimoh (Kwara State) – 373
- Ayibo Roberts (Rivers State) – 373
- Chibueze Omonugbo (Enugu State) – 373
- Tunmise Olawepo (Kwara State) – 373
- Leslie Afinotan (Delta State) – 373
- Chukwuemeka Azoyenime (Delta State) – 372
- Emmanuel Oyebode (Ogun State) – 372
- Cecil Omigie (Edo State) – 372
JAMB said it is investigating the matter and reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining the integrity of its examination processes.
