A 16-year-old Nigerian student, Owoeye Daniella Jesudunsin, has emerged as the highest scorer in the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) after recording an impressive 372 out of 400.

The announcement was made during the 2026 Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions in Abuja, where the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released details of the best-performing candidates nationwide.

Outstanding Performance Across Subjects

Daniella, an indigene of Ekiti State who sat for the examination in Ogun State, is aspiring to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Lagos.

Her subject breakdown showed exceptional performance across all areas: 98 in English Language, 98 in Chemistry, 94 in Physics, and 82 in Biology.

Her overall score of 372 placed her at the top of the national ranking for the 2026 UTME.

“I Set a High Target for Myself”

Speaking on her achievement, Daniella revealed that she had previously sat for the 2025 UTME but was unable to secure admission due to technical issues experienced at her examination centre.

“This isn’t my first UTME. I graduated from secondary school last year, so I sat for the UTME last year. I couldn’t gain admission due to the glitches I experienced in my exam centre, which affected my result,” she explained.

She added that her preparation for the 2026 exam began immediately after her previous attempt and credited her school, EFVP Wisdom Spring Model School, for supporting her academic journey.

Daniella also noted that she set a very ambitious goal for herself ahead of the exam.

“I was aiming for nothing less than 350, so I fixed my goal at 370+,” she said.

Other Top Scorers in 2026 UTME

According to official JAMB records, Enwere Kingsley Ikenna from Imo State came second with a score of 370. He sat for the examination in Lagos State and applied to study Computer Science at Nile University.

In third place was Bamisile Ayomide Emmanuel from Ondo State, who scored 369 and is seeking admission into Software Engineering at the Federal University of Technology Akure.

Several other candidates also recorded outstanding performances, scoring between 367 and 368 marks in the highly competitive examination, highlighting an impressive overall academic showing in this year’s UTME.