By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
ASHENEWS reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has barred Ms. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a candidate for this year’s UTME for three years for allegedly falsifying her results.
The examination body, which is insisting that Mmesoma’s result is “patently fake” has also withdrawn her 2023 UTME result.
The board stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday by Fabian Benjamin, the Acting Director, of Public Affairs and Protocol.
“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 endeavor 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,”
JAMB added that it stopped issuing Notification of Result slips after the 2021 UTME for the simple reason that candidates were falsifying them.
“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.’
“Nigerians are urged to recall numerous occasions where the Board was sued for billions of naira only for the lawyers to later apologize 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 N2 billion 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, been rightly handed over to relevant security agencies for a thorough investigation to unravel the masterminds of yet another unfortunate scam,” he said.
It maintained that it was transparent in its operations and would not mind scrutiny from the public.
“The Board is not averse to public scrutiny and is ready for an 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 statement said.
