JAMB Set To Clear 4,845 Students Including FUTA Graduate Barred From NYSC
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is on the verge of resolving a major controversy that has prevented thousands of graduates from participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program over disputed admission statuses.
Among those set to be cleared is Jamiu Basola, a FUTA graduate whose case gained national attention after JAMB described his admission as “fake” despite his university’s insistence that it was genuine.
According to sources familiar with the matter, JAMB is preparing to clear 4,845 individuals who have faced similar challenges with their admission records preventing NYSC registration.
The clearance comes after an extensive review process that saw JAMB receive over 17,000 admission complaints nationwide, demonstrating the widespread nature of the problem affecting graduates across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Of the total complaints reviewed, the board has already cleared 6,908 candidates last month, while determining 5,669 cases as outright fraud. Some cases considered fraudulent are still being investigated or prosecuted.
Basola and 12 other candidates with similar issues represent a special category within the clearance process. These 13 individuals were among the 4,845 regularized by JAMB but were subsequently flagged due to omissions noticed on their portals.
The other affected candidates come from various institutions across Nigeria, including:
- Two from Bayero University Kano (BUK)
- One each from University of Ilorin, Ekiti State University, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ben Idahosa University, Obong University, Yaba College of Technology, Osun State Polytechnic, and Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri
These candidates will be asked to effect corrections that may have led to the challenges they are facing on the JAMB portal.
Basola’s case became a public controversy when his admission was flagged as “fake” on the JAMB matriculation list, effectively disqualifying him from NYSC mobilization despite completing his studies in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at FUTA in December 2024.
In a complaint submitted to the JAMB Support Centre on February 10, 2025, Basola acknowledged failing to print the original JAMB result slip from his portal—a document that could have helped clarify his admission status.
“I acknowledge that this oversight may have contributed to the issue at hand,” he wrote, while maintaining that he was genuinely admitted and completed his studies.
However, speaking to reporters on Sunday, Basola expressed doubt that his failure to print his result from the JAMB portal was the real cause of his ordeal, suggesting deeper systemic issues may have been at play.
Throughout the controversy, both Basola and FUTA maintained that his admission was legitimate. The university wrote to JAMB to confirm the graduate’s admission status and provided supporting documentation.
Basola presented several supporting documents to validate his claims, including:
- JAMB admission letter
- UTME result
- WAEC certificate
- FUTA admission letter
Despite this comprehensive documentation, the issue remained unresolved for months, highlighting potential gaps in JAMB’s admission verification systems.
The controversy stems from JAMB’s introduction of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) in 2017, designed to simplify admission processes by requiring all tertiary institutions to offer admissions through the centralized platform.
Candidates offered admissions outside of CAPS are classified by JAMB as having “undisclosed admissions” or “illegal admissions.”
For the first three years (2017-2020), JAMB helped universities regularize admissions conducted outside CAPS following a waiver granted by the then Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.
During this regularization period, the board flagged 13 candidates, including Basola, over certain omissions that are now being addressed.
Importantly, all admissions offered outside of CAPS since 2020 are considered illegal and cannot be regularized, making the current clearance particularly significant for those affected during the earlier period.
The scale of the problem—with over 17,000 complaints received—reveals how admission verification issues have affected thousands of Nigerian graduates, preventing them from participating in the mandatory NYSC program and potentially hindering their career prospects.
