The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has firmly rejected claims of “witch‑hunting” after accusations surfaced alleging that its top scorer in the 2025 UTME, Chinedu Okeke, achieved his record-breaking score under suspicious circumstances.
Chinedu, who scored an outstanding 375 out of 400 marks, previously gained admission to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in 2021. Three years into the program, he reportedly decided to change his course of study, opting instead to pursue Mechanical Engineering. He registered afresh for the 2025 exam—prompting heated debate and scrutiny from the exam body.
JAMB’s spokesperson attributed public outcry in support of Chinedu to “a tale of emotional blackmail,” criticizing social media defenders of the candidate. The Board pointed out that, while Chinedu initially claimed Lagos State as his origin on his 2021 registration, more recent details list Anambra State. They questioned: why would a fourth-year medical student suddenly pivot to engineering, despite discrepancies in identity data?
“In his records, he claimed he is from the South‑East while the other record is reading that he is from Lagos State,” JAMB stated, adding that such inconsistencies warranted scrutiny. They described suspicions that Chinedu may have been involved as a “mercenary,” leveraging his prior matriculation to gain unfair advantage—an allegation that caused shock among observers.
Defending Chinedu’s integrity, education technology expert Alex Onyia—CEO of Educare—shared Chinedu’s journey on social media. Onyia clarified that the student was among those affected by technical glitches during the UTME and had to reprint his exam slip before retaking the test. He emphasized that Chinedu’s score of 375 came after this repeat exam. Onyia also explained the source of the identity mismatch: “JAMB migrated wrong details from the NIN platform… These were corrected through the official data correction process in 2021.”
Reaffirming the candidate’s record, Onyia urged JAMB to investigate thoroughly and consider issuing an apology: “His profile page reflects the correct information… The inconsistencies were not his doing.”
The controversy has ignited broader discussions about fairness and transparency in Nigeria’s exam administration. Many questioned the legitimacy of penalizing a student for retaking JAMB in pursuit of a preferred career path. One commentator noted, “I sat for JAMB twice… There’s nothing illegal about that.”
JAMB insists it remains committed to upholding exam integrity and ensuring candidates do not exploit procedural loopholes. It stated that it has not received any contradictory information from UNN about Chinedu’s enrollment and will continue to treat him as a registered undergraduate. The Board warned that, if new evidence emerges, it may refer the case to the Medical and Dental Council for further action.
Meanwhile, public reaction has focused on Nigeria’s treatment of academic excellence. Critics argue that brilliance often attracts suspicion rather than celebration, and that institutional responses can unintentionally demotivate deserving candidates.
As the investigation continues, Chinedu and his supporters remain under intense scrutiny—standing at the intersection of academic distinction and institutional doubt.
