By Bilesanmi Abayomi
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reaffirmed that the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result presented by Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma is unequivocally fake. Consequently, JAMB has invalidated her 2023 UTME result and barred her from taking any JAMB examination for the next three years. The decision was communicated through a statement signed by Dr Fabian Benjamin, Acting Director of Public Affairs and Protocol, on Tuesday in Abuja.
JAMB had earlier withdrawn Mmesoma’s UTME result on Sunday, accusing her of manipulating and falsifying her scores. However, in a viral video released on Monday, Mmesoma denied any wrongdoing and suggested a possible technical glitch from JAMB’s system. She claimed that the result she possessed was an original printout from the JAMB portal.
JAMB responded by stating, “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.” The board asserted that its system had not been tampered with or compromised. It further highlighted that Mmesoma inadvertently revealed the actual owner of the result she was parading, as the QR code on the result slip belonged to another candidate, and she had attempted to deceive by distorting the truth.
To validate their claim, JAMB encouraged the public to scan the QR code on the result slip to witness the truth before it was manipulated. The board also clarified that since 2021, it had stopped issuing Notification of Result slips due to frequent falsification by candidates. Instead, it began issuing actual UTME RESULT Slips complete with candidates’ photographs since 2022.
JAMB emphasized that Mmesoma’s case was not the first fraudulent claim they had encountered and confirmed that relevant security agencies would investigate the matter. The board invited a public session with security agencies, Mmesoma’s representatives, and civil society organizations to shed light on the incident.
JAMB revealed that Mmesoma was set to receive honors from the Anambra State Government, but an official’s call prompted the board to verify her claim. The investigation unveiled that Mmesoma had fraudulently obtained scholarship and other recognitions by falsely claiming a score of 362 when her actual score was 249.
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