The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has warned tertiary institutions against granting admissions outside the Central Admissions Processing System, CAPS, describing such practices as illegal.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, gave the warning during the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions organised by the board on Monday in Abuja.

Oloyede said some institutions were still issuing admission letters to candidates who had not been approved through CAPS, contrary to Federal Government directives.

He noted that the practice undermined transparency in the admission process, adding that there were cases where candidates with higher scores were denied admission while those with lower scores were admitted.

According to him, disciplinary actions have already been initiated against affected institutions, and sanctions will be applied.

The registrar added that a case involving 11 universities over alleged illegal admissions was currently before the court.

Oloyede also refuted claims that candidates were posted outside their chosen examination towns, explaining that candidates selected their preferred examination towns during registration and were only assigned to centres within those locations.

The JAMB registrar added that investigations into the complaints confirmed that no candidate was posted outside his or her selected examination town.

According to him, the matter had also been reviewed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC.

He reiterated that all admissions into tertiary institutions must be processed through CAPS and urged institutions to strictly comply with approved admission procedures.