Just In: JAMB Breaks Silence Amid Reports 15 Candidates Were Allegedly Kidnapped in Imo

• JAMB has said that all the 15 candidates who left Onitsha, Anambra state, for Imo state to write the UTME 2025, earlier rumoured to have disappeared, have been found safely
• In a statement issued on Monday morning, May 19, it was stated that the students wrote their examination, but were obstructed by their vehicle malfunction in Amuro, Okigwe axis, as they were going back to Onitsha
• The statement informed that there was a communication gap in the remote area where the vehicle had the problem

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering education in Nigeria and worldwide.

Okigwe, Imo state - The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) on Monday, May 19, confirmed that the 15 students earlier said to have been abducted by gunmen while traveling from Onitsha to Okigwe for the rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) 2025 have been found.

Legit.ng reports that the affected students—from Eminent Scholars Imperial Academy, Onitsha, Anambra state—had departed Onitsha on Friday, May 16, 2025, for their rescheduled JAMB examinations at a computer-based test (CBT) centre in Okigwe, Imo state.

UTME 2025: JAMB calms tension

According to JAMB in a statement shared on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the Nigerian youths have since been reunited with their families.

The examination board criticised a social media user, Uche Okoye, for putting out an "erroneous" message.

JAMB tweeted:

"This is to inform the general public that no candidates were kidnapped from Onitsha to Okigwe as erroneously reported by @uchePokoye.

"The said candidates arranged a vehicle to convey them from Onitsha, Anambra state to write exam at Okigwe, Imo state. On their way, the vehicle developed a fault and unfortunately, there wasn't a mobile network in the area, as such, they couldn't call for help.

"The candidates, according to the Imo state police, had since reunited with their families, only that Uche Okoye didn't deem it fit to return to give updates on the misinformation. The questions we are asking as an agency include-of all the exam towns in Anambra state, what prompted the candidates' selection of examination towns in Imo state and why group transportation arrangement?"

Imo police dismiss report on missing UTME candidates

In the same vein, the state police command stated that the candidates were stranded not abducted.

A press statement issued by Henry Okoye, the police spokesperson in Imo, detailed what happened. Okoye stated that the vehicle conveying the candidates broke down rendering the students stranded along the way.

Okoye's statement partly reads:

“The command unequivocally confirms that no abduction took place. The students, together with their proprietor and support staff, safely arrived in Imo state and sat for their examinations as scheduled."

The top police official clarified that the vehicle conveying the UTME candidates experienced a mechanical failure within Amuro area of Okigwe where mobile network coverage is said to be limited which rendered their handsets temporarily out of network.

UTME 2025: MURIC sends fresh message to JAMB

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) addressed JAMB concerning an alleged fresh claim regarding technical glitches.

The prominent Islamic human rights organisation claimed that the UTME 2025 setback which necessitated retaking examinations did not only affect Lagos state and the southeast.

Source: Legit.ng