JAMB Denies Validity of FUTA Graduate’s Admission Seven Years After Graduation; Student Faces Investigation
A disturbing controversy has emerged involving Basola Jamiu Owodunni, a graduate of the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), whose admission has been declared invalid by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)—seven years after he began his studies and recently graduated.
Basola, who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in 2017 and gained admission into FUTA in 2018 to study Civil Engineering, graduated in 2024 with a commendable Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.41. However, his mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was reportedly rejected, triggering a deeper investigation into the legitimacy of his admission.
According to Basola, repeated attempts to verify his details on the JAMB matriculation list revealed his admission was flagged as fake. After several unsuccessful attempts to access his JAMB portal, he visited the JAMB office, only to be informed that he was to be handed over to the Department of State Services (DSS) for further investigation.
“I was advised to verify my details on the JAMB matriculation list, which indicated fake admission,” Basola said. “After visiting the JAMB office without any positive outcome, my only option seemed to be to submit myself to DSS for questioning, hoping that this would help fast-track the resolution process.”
Basola also claimed that a representative from FUTA’s admission office presented documents to the police confirming that his admission was properly recommended by the university. Despite this, Basola spent several hours in DSS and police custody before being released through the intervention of a friend.
The JAMB Public Communication Adviser, Fabian Benjamin, in a statement released on Sunday, confirmed that Basola’s admission records were not found in JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). The board said it did not approve his admission and called on Basola to disclose how he obtained the document he presented, which JAMB says did not originate from its system.
“This serves as a reminder that candidates should only accept admission offers processed through CAPS and printed accordingly,” the statement emphasized.
JAMB further stressed that Basola remains “an unknown entity” within its records, citing that he did not follow due process. The board stated that it lacks the authority to insert him into its system, rendering him invisible to the NYSC and other relevant bodies.
Responding to Basola’s claim that his disadvantaged background and status as an orphan should garner sympathy, JAMB maintained that such factors “should not serve as emotional leverage in this matter.”
As of the time of reporting, Basola says JAMB headquarters has not responded to the police report sent to the Commissioner of Police in Abuja.
This case highlights critical concerns about admission verification and the importance of compliance with official admission protocols in Nigerian tertiary institutions. It also raises questions about the implications for students caught in discrepancies between university records and JAMB’s central system.
Undergragra will continue to follow this story closely and provide updates as more information becomes available.
