The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has wielded a big stick on candidate, Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, alleged to have forged her result to become the highest scorer for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), barring her from sitting for the examination in the next three years.
JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in a statement, said the Board stands by its decision that the result being paraded by the candidate is fake.
The statement partly read: “The Board would like to reassure Nigerians that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised as the candidate simply falsified a copy of a result slip of a candidate named ‘Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle,’ who sat the UTME in 2021 and scored 138.
“In the meantime, the management of the Board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in line with its established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years.”
Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Government has set up a panel investigate the claims of Ejikeme and the JAMB on the matter.
The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, in a statement on Monday announced that “A panel of inquiry has been set up to work with security agents to investigate the allegation of falsification of result levelled against Mmesoma Ejikeme, who had earlier been showcased on social media as having scored the highest.”
The Commissioner described the controversy on the Ejikeme’s actual result as embarrassing, especially coming at a time when Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo was repositioning the education sector in Anambra.
Former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili
Also, former Minister of Education in Nigeria, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has demanded an independent forensic investigation on the matter.
According to the former minister, after listening to Ejikeme’s claim in a video, it is reasonable that a forensic investigation should be carried out to reveal what really happened.
In a post via her verified Twitter handle on Monday, Ezekwesili disclosed that she had reached out to the Registrar of JAMB to carry out an independent investigation.
She wrote: “This saga between Mmesoma Ejikeme and @JAMBHQ requires an Independent Tech investigation to unearth all facts. Listening to her in this video, it is reasonable to request a forensic investigation to help reveal what really happened. I have reached out to the Registrar of JAMB.”
Ohaneze Ndigbo leader, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu
As the controversy continues unabated on the issue of alleged forged results, a civil society group, the South East Fact Check, has called on the Ohaneze Ndigbo to wade into the matter immediately.
It said that intervention of the Ohaneze Ndigbo led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu is necessary “to avoid persecution of our Ada Igbo.”
The group condemned the JAMB for not giving Ejikeme a fair hearing before taking a position on the matter.
The group’s chairman, Mr. Barry Odinkemmere, in a statement, described the JAMB statement as an “ambush.”
Insisting that Ejikeme was not given a fair hearing before JAMB went to press on the matter, the group expressed concern at the tone applied in the statement, saying that it sounded like “a premeditated plan against the candidate.”
The group said a thorough investigation should have been concluded on the matter to determine who is saying the truth before JAMB admitted that something was wrong with the candidate’s claim.
The statement reads: “How can you arrive at this conclusion without a final, thorough and independent investigation?
“This girl, from our findings, has maintained first position from her primary school days. If there is a problem of credibility on the JAMB results portal, who should take the blame, is it not JAMB? Why will they crucify a poor brilliant girl on the altar of wickedness.”
Advising JAMB to allow a forensic investigation to be concluded before going to the press, the group said: “If at the end of the day, the result is confirmed to be forged by the girl, then she should be prosecuted.
“But if it is discovered at the end of the day that she is the true owner, JAMB should pay her compensation with apologies and we will go to Court against them to enforce the rights of the poor girl.”
The group, which vowed to mobilize a free legal team for Mmesoma if the need arises, commended Mr. Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Motors for standing with the UTME candidate, until the conclusion of independent investigations.
It would be recalled that Ejikeme claimed that she scored 362 but JAMB refuted it, saying she forged the result and scored 249.
Meanwhile, Ejikeme, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School Uruagu in Nnewi, Anambra State was being celebrated for highest scorer in the examination until JAMB came out to show that the girl’s result was fake and falsified using internet software.
On receiving information of Ejikeme’s brilliant performance in the exam through the media, the owner of Innoson Motors, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, had awarded Ejikeme a scholarship and N3 million cash gift.
In a twist, as the investigation continues at different levels, the Anambra State Government has commended another candidate from the state, Nkechinyere Umeh, who JAMB declared the highest scorer nationwide in the examination with a cumulative mark of 360.
