The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced the arrest of two candidates and a parent for allegedly falsifying results of the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) using artificial intelligence and other electronic tools.

The disclosure was made on Friday as the board released results for 632,788 candidates who sat the examination on Thursday, April 16.

In a statement, the board’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, said the suspects were apprehended for manipulating official SMS result notifications to fabricate or alter scores with the intent to mislead parents, guardians, and other stakeholders.

“Currently, two candidates and one parent are in custody for engaging in result falsification using AI and other electronic means,” the statement said.

The board warned that such actions constitute serious criminal offences and reaffirmed its commitment to prosecuting offenders to the full extent of the law.

It also cautioned candidates against tampering with result messages sent through its official SMS platforms, 55019 and 66019.

Candidates who participated in the April 16 examination can check their results by sending “UTMERESULT” via SMS to 55019 or 66019 using the phone number linked to their registration. Printing of official result slips, according to the board, will be enabled at a later date.

The 2026 UTME commenced on April 16 and is scheduled to run until April 22 at accredited centres nationwide, with results to be released in batches as the exercise progresses.