The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Anambra State Command, has vowed to arrest and prosecute any individual or group found extorting prospective candidates ahead of the 2026 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration exercise.
State Commandant, Olatunde Maku, issued the warning during a familiarisation visit by the JAMB State Coordinator, Dinah Obiano, to the NSCDC State Command Headquarters in Awka on Friday.
Maku said the command was strengthening synergy and collaboration with JAMB to ensure a smooth, transparent, and hitch-free registration and examination process for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). He described the visit as a crucial step toward deepening cooperation and fostering a productive working relationship between both institutions.
According to him, NSCDC personnel will be massively deployed to accredited registration centres across the state ahead of the commencement of the 2026 UTME registration. He explained that the deployment would not only secure facilities but also protect candidates from being exploited.
“I want to assure prospective candidates and their parents that the command will not allow unpatriotic individuals or criminal elements to extort or shortchange candidates,” Maku said, warning that anyone caught violating government-approved procedures would face the full weight of the law.
The commandant noted that the existing collaboration between NSCDC and JAMB had already yielded positive results, particularly in curbing examination malpractice. He added that the partnership had led to the closure of non-accredited registration centres and the arrest of syndicates exploiting candidates during previous registration exercises.
Earlier, the JAMB State Coordinator, Ms Obiano, commended the NSCDC for its sustained support in the successful conduct of past UTME exercises in Anambra State. She described the corps’ involvement as a call to national service and urged that the partnership be sustained and strengthened.
Obiano further assured that all necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure that the 2026 UTME would be conducted in a peaceful, secure, and conducive environment across the state, giving candidates the confidence to sit for the examination without fear of intimidation or exploitation.