On Wednesday, Mmesoma Ejikeme, a student from Anambra State, who altered her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result, appeared before a special committee of the House of Representatives in Abuja.
The young girl had confessed to manipulating her UTME score, raising it from 249 to 362, and falsely claiming to be the top scorer for the 2023 UTME. She offered an apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for her actions.
Prior to acknowledging her forgery, Mmesoma had been involved in a back-and-forth with JAMB, with the examination body imposing a three-year ban on her as a consequence.
Amidst the escalating debate, the House of Representatives intervened, calling for a halt to the imposed penalty.
Read Also : I support the 3-year ban imposed by JAMB on Mmesoma – Ezekwesili
However, during an investigation conducted by the Commission of Inquiry established by the Anambra State Government to examine the matter, Mmesoma eventually admitted to forging her result.
Subsequently, on Wednesday, she appeared before the House of Representatives’ ad hoc committee established to investigate the issue.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, was also present, accompanied by other high-ranking officials from the examination body.
During the hearing, Mmesoma appealed for clemency, urging JAMB to lift the three-year ban that had been imposed on her.
Also Read : Anambra Govt Lambasts JAMB, Distances Itself From Its Claim Against Mmesoma Ejikeme
She expressed, “I carry a burden of pain for betraying your trust.
“I have already confessed that my actions were wrong. With that acknowledgment, I now present my letter of apology to all of you.
“I sincerely beg for your forgiveness for the errors I committed and the pain I have inflicted.
“I fully and genuinely admit that I obtained my JAMB result from a different portal, not the official JAMB portal, due to my ignorance.
“I apologize for all the accusations made against others and for the pain I have caused.”
She mentioned that her lack of knowledge significantly influenced the decision to obtain the fake result.
Further more : [BREAKING] UTME score: We stopped using notification slip presented by Mmesoma in 2021 — JAMB
However, the JAMB Registrar, in his statement, maintained that Mmesoma knowingly colluded with others to falsify her result.
He also disclosed that JAMB had taken action against more than eight UTME centers that were caught engaging in irregularities related to result manipulation, resulting in their closure.
