JAMB nabs CBT centre operator over chat with 15-year-old candidate

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has arrested a CBT centre operator and an accomplice for inappropriate communication with a 15-year-old exam candidate.

The alleged wrongdoing was discovered when the candidate’s mother, who had provided her phone number during the registration procedure, began receiving inappropriate messages immediately after the registration.

The concerned mother, named Iphie, expressed her concerns on her X account, accusing JAMB of incompetence and weak data security, prompting a formal investigation.

According to the mother’s statement, the CBT manager used the phone number from the registration form to start a text exchange, mistaking it for direct communication with the candidate.

Despite being informed of the teenager’s age, the individual apparently persisted in chatting and requested that the conversation be kept private.

Speaking to journalists after the arrest, The ICT consultant for JAMB, Damilola Bamiro, said in a video shared by Channels Tv on Thursday, ”Today, based on the social media report that has gone around where a mother complained that her 15-year-old daughter was being approached by a staff member of one of our CBT centres, and immediately we got that information, we swung into action.

”We identified the centre, and since our system identifies who has registered a candidate, we were able to apprehend both the person who registered the candidate and the person who approached the minor.

”We have them in custody already, just to assure Nigerians that JAMB will always swing into action whenever any case against any candidate is reported.”