The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it suspects irregularities in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result of Chinedu Okeke, the candidate who scored the highest mark in the 2025 edition.
This was made known on Tuesday by the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, during the 2025 Policy Meeting held in Abuja. According to him, Chinedu Okeke, a native of Anambra State, achieved a total score of 375, making him the highest scorer in the country.
However, the Board said there were concerns after a deeper check into Okeke’s academic background. It was revealed that Okeke is already a medical student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), which raises questions about his eligibility for this year’s UTME.
Prof. Oloyede noted that Okeke had applied for Mechanical Engineering at the University of Lagos in this year’s application, but past records showed that he was admitted to study Medicine at UNN just a year ago.
Following the discovery, JAMB contacted UNN for confirmation, and the university verified that Okeke is indeed their student and is actively attending classes.
In response to the situation, JAMB’s Public Communications Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said the Board is deeply suspicious of dishonest conduct.
“The law does not allow a student to matriculate twice, and as an undergraduate, he has advantage over the other candidates in the examinations.
“In his records, he claimed he is from the South-East while the other record is reading that he is from Lagos State.
“We are suspecting that he is a mercenary in the examination,” Benjamin said.
Meanwhile, the Board released the full list of top scorers in the 2025 UTME. According to the announcement, John Ayuba from Gombe State came second with a score of 374, while Olayinka Jimoh from Kwara State came third with 373.
Also scoring 373 were Ayibo Roberts from Rivers, Chibueze Omonugbo from Enugu, Tunmise Olawepo from Kwara, and Leslie Afinotan from Delta State.
Others who scored 372 include Chukwuemeka Azoyenime from Delta, Emmanuel Oyebode from Ogun, and Cecil Omigie from Edo.
