04 November 2021: 48 individuals have been arrested by operatives of  the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in a joint operation with the Department of State Services (DSS),  for their involvements in alleged illegalities in the conduct of tests by the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB).
JUPEB is an advanced level educational examination that qualifies candidates for admission into 200-Level in Nigerian or foreign universities through Direct Entry. It is coordinated by the University of Lagos and has up to 10 accredited universities.
Reports claim that the joint operation tagged: ‘Combo’, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, led to the arrest of lecturers, security officers, workers and students from some of the participating universities.
Operatives of the ICPC and DSS, simultaneously carried out Operation Combo in seven states, after extensive monitoring of tutorial schools allegedly known for compromising JUPEB examinations.
ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, in a statement, yesterday, said: “This has led to the arrest of the President of Tutorial School Owners (ATSO).”
The suspects were arrested from: Wellspring University, Benin, Edo State; Christopher University, Mowe, Ogun State; and Crown-Hill University, Ilorin, Kwara State.
She disclosed that: “Credible intelligence gathered during the operations showed active connivance of parents of the students and management of the universities. Three current vice-chancellors have been invited by ICPC for their roles in the malpractices.”
Ogugua added that the investigation revealed that syndicated social media platforms were created by the facilitators for leaking questions and circulating answers to students for a fee during examinations.
“Investigation also revealed that candidates, who are mostly minors, allegedly paid between N350,000 to N500,000 each to the suspects in the various tutorial schools to engage in the illegalities.”