JAMB warns against NIN abuse as UTME registration starts January 26

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has warned candidates against misuse of their National Identification Numbers ahead of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination registration exercise.

The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, issued the warning during an interactive meeting with the Board’s management, held in preparation for the sale of application forms and registration for the 2026 UTME and Direct Entry (DE) exams.

This is contained in a weekly bulletin released on the Board’s website on Monday.

“Multiple/double registrations coupled with the use of multiple National Identification Numbers (NINs) by a single candidate for the purpose of double registration, impersonation, or any form of identity manipulation is strictly prohibited and will be severely sanctioned,” Prof. Oloyede warned.

He also cautioned candidates against impersonation, extortion, image blending, group registration, inappropriate movement of routers, donating fingerprints, and other irregularities that undermine the integrity of the examination.

In specific terms, the Registrar warned candidates “against donating to or accepting fingers from others in order to accelerate biometric capturing, stating that such actions attract severe sanctions and consequences.”

Consequently, he advised candidates, “to ensure that only their own ten fingers are captured individually and correctly at the CBT centre.”

Prof. Oloyede reaffirmed JAMB’s commitment to its cashless registration system, aimed at preventing exploitation of candidates.

He explained that centralised collection of all third-party fees would continue, with remittances made to beneficiaries on a weekly basis.

In related developments, all administrators and tellers from partnering financial institutions, including banks, microfinance institutions, and mobile money operators, have been mandated to register their NINs with JAMB to safeguard accountability in the e-PIN vending process.

The Registrar also briefed participants on the timelines and costs for the exercise.

According to him, “the cost of DE application documents remains N5,700; UTME without Mock is still N7,200; while UTME with Mock is N8,700.”

He added that, as in the previous year, “UTME candidates would register first before Direct Entry candidates, while the sale of UTME application documents, commencing with the creation of profiles by prospective candidates, will start on 19th January and end on 26th February, 2026.”

He stated that the actual UTME registration period will run from 26th January to 28th February 2026, at all approved CBT centres, with the close of Mock Selection fixed for 16th February 2026.

The Registrar further noted that DE registration and e-PIN vending will commence on 2nd March and close on 25th April 2026, and that DE registration will be available only at JAMB offices.

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