Following the posting of her latest video where she denied forging her result and insisted she downloaded it on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, portal, the examination body on Tuesday, suspended Ejikeme Joy Mmesome from writing its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, for three years over allegedly forging her 2023 result.
The board in a statement issued by its Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, reaffirmed that its system was neither tampered with nor compromised as the candidate simply falsified a copy of the result slip of one Asimiyu Mariam Omobolanle who sat for the UTME in 2021 and scored 138.
In his words, ”The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is, hereby, restating its earlier position that the UTME result being paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is patently fake.
“Consequently, 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.
“It is also instructive to note that the candidate, in her statement, has inadvertently revealed the rightful owner of the result she is parading when she pointed out that the QR code on the result slip showed the actual owner of the said result before she peddled a lie in an attempt to obfuscate the truth.
“To witness the unassailable position of the Board regarding this obvious falsehood, the general public is, therefore, urged to endeavour to scan the QR code on the result slip to see its actual owner before it was mutilated.
“It is to be noted that the QR code encapsulates the UTME result of each candidate, hence, what is on the result sheet is nothing other than the interpretation of the information on this QR code.
“Furthermore, the public is also to note that the Board stopped issuing Notification of Result slips after the 2021 UTME for the simple reason that candidates were falsifying them. Consequently, the Board has been issuing actual UTME RESULT Slips (not notification of results ) since 2022 complete with the photograph of each candidate.
“Similarly, the public is also invited to ponder on the fact that out of all the candidates that sat the 2023 UTME, only Ms. Ejikeme Mmesoma parades the obsolete ‘Notification of Result.’
“The Board remains unperturbed by this unfortunate development as this is not the first time such fraudulent claims have been made. As such, Nigerians are urged to recall numerous occasions where the Board was sued for billions of naira only for the lawyers to later apologise profusely for their clients’ misadventure.
” Prominent among these is the case of a candidate, John Chinedu Ifesinachi, who, in 2021, wrote a letter to the Board , threatening to sue for N2b damages, only for him and his counsel to tender unreserved apology when the candidate eventually confessed his crime in the face of incontrovertible facts in an open investigation observed by several national public institutions including the Public Complaints Commission, National Human Rights Commission, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council, Servicom and media houses.
“This case has, therefore, being rightly handed over to relevant security agencies for thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds of yet another unfortunate scam.
“The Board is not averse to public scrutiny and is ready for open public session involving the agencies listed above as well as relevant security agencies where the candidate , parent’s guardian and her legal team will be present.
“Another frightening dimension to the unfolding drama is the unwholesome interest of some nefarious elements, who to all intents and purposes, are determined to goad the candidate on this unproductive path as any casual observer would observe with the obviously stage-managed video aired by Ms. Ejikeme. The Board urges these confusionists to have a rethink as their evil machinations would soon come to light.
“Again, the Board restates its readiness for genuine scrutiny as this case would not be the first time and might not even be the last of such shenanigans. At the end of the day, the truth would manifest and the Board vindicated.
“In the meantime, the management of the Board urges member of the public to examine critically the issue at hand and avoid fake news trafficking.
“In the meantime, the management of the Board, after considering the weighty infraction committed by Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, and in line with it’s established procedures, has withdrawn her 2023 UTME result and also barred her from sitting the Board’s examination for the next three years.”
Meanwhile, Prof. Charles Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State where the student hails from has set up a panel to investigate the alleged fraud.
Mmesome, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, Anambra State reportedly changed her result to 362 and announced herself as the top scorer for this year’s UTME in the country.
As a result Innocent Chukwuma, Founder of Innoson Motors, had awarded her a N3 million scholarship for her efforts. The Anambra State government has also been making arrangements to honour her performance when the controversy began.
