Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin from Ekiti State emerged as the highest scorer in the 2026 UTME, recording 372 marks, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board announced Monday in Abuja.
Ishaq Oloyede made the declaration at the admission policy meeting in the federal capital, and JAMB’s registrar added that the candidate wrote the examination in Ogun State. Owoeye listed the University of Lagos as her first choice and hopes to study Medicine and Surgery.
The margin at the top was narrow. Enwere Kingsley Ikenna of Imo State scored 370 marks and chose Nile University of Nigeria with plans to study Computer Science. Bamisile Ayomide Emmanuel from Ondo State followed with 369 marks and selected the Federal University of Technology Akure to study Software Engineering.
A cluster of candidates scored 368 marks. Olabiyisi Olanrewaju Oluwatimileyin of Oyo State chose Pan-Atlantic University for Mechatronics Engineering. Victor-Onyeka Daniel Ifeanyi from Imo State picked the University of Port Harcourt for Electrical/Electronic Engineering. Osagiobare Daniel Osaherumwen of Edo State opted for the University of Benin to study Mechanical Engineering. Ademiluyi Adebowale Anthony from Osun State chose Obafemi Awolowo University for Computer Engineering. Azike Kenechukwu Anthony of Anambra State selected Afe Babalola University to study Software Engineering.
Three candidates tied one mark lower, at 367. Offorike Michael Okechukwu from Abia State chose the University of Ibadan for Computer Science. Adebisi Eniola Sonari from Ogun State listed Covenant University for Computer Science. Umukoro Gift Oghenevovwero of Delta State picked Pan-Atlantic University to study Electrical/Electronic Engineering.
The 372 top score in 2026 is three points lower than last year’s best. In 2025 Chinedu Okeke from Anambra State recorded a top UTME score of 375. The contrast between the two years is the clearest numeric proof of a shifting ceiling for the exam.
JAMB also used the meeting to announce a procedural shift: the board said it will introduce a Bring Your Own Device option for the UTME in 2027. That planned change was given alongside the results and now frames how candidates, institutions and the board will think about high scores in future years.
The immediate context is straightforward. The UTME is organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and the announcement at the admission policy meeting serves as the official ledger for top performers and their university choices. For candidates like Owoeye, the headline number will now move behind the admittance process tied to their chosen schools.
The tension is obvious. A slightly lower top mark this year sits next to a major procedural change scheduled for 2027. Will allowing candidates to use their own devices push top scores up, down, or leave them unchanged? JAMB gave the date for the new option but not an answer to how it will reshape results.
The single question that follows this announcement is the most consequential: can the Bring Your Own Device rollout and other administrative choices reverse a one-point-at-a-time slide at the very top of the UTME, or has the peak performance simply shifted? That will determine whether Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin’s 372 stands as a new standard or the last of a particular pattern.
