The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that over 15,000 candidates submitted forged admission letters in a bid to qualify for mobilisation into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.
The disclosure was made by the Registrar of JAMB, Is‑haq Oloyede, on Monday during the 2025 Batch C Pre-Mobilisation Workshop in Abuja. He said the board uncovered the large-scale fraud after an internal audit and cross-verification of institutional records.
According to Oloyede, “some deputy registrars and deputy vice-chancellors — no fewer than 17 officials, including four JAMB staff — are already in prison custody.”
Oloyede urged all stakeholders—candidates and institutions—to adhere strictly to admission and mobilisation rules, warning that misconduct would attract prosecution.
National Youth Service Corps Director-General, Olakunle Nafiu (Brig-Gen), echoed the concerns, saying forged credentials, multiple registrations and identity theft are serious threats to the scheme’s credibility.
Nafiu noted that while the NYSC’s Integrated System (NIS) has improved efficiency since 2014, the scheme still faces cyber-threats and issues with data integrity. He reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to sanctioning “degree mills” and unapproved study centres involved in fraudulent admissions.
The Director of Corps Mobilisation, Rachel Idaewor, also stressed that despite digitalisation progress, the NYSC mobilisation process remains vulnerable to data manipulation, and accurate, reliable data are vital to maintaining its integrity.
Also of note: Earlier this year JAMB had flagged around 17,417 candidates in connection with fake admission letter syndicates. Of those, 6,903 were cleared after rectification, 5,669 were confirmed to have outrightly procured forged letters, and 4,832 attempted to sidestep a regularisation process.
Meanwhile, JAMB has extended the deadline for public universities’ admissions from October 31 to November 17 in response to institutional accreditation and admissions delays.
