Following the conclusion that Mmesoma Ejikeme falsified her results for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the Anambra State Government withdrew the scholarship it had previously granted her.
On Saturday, Cornel Osigwe, the Innoson Group’s Head of Corporate Communications and Affairs, made this information public.
The top scoring in the 2023 UTME, according to Miss Mmesoma, a student at the Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra State, was 362.
The ‘feat’ earned her praise from Nigerians on social media, including the Anambra State Government.
Later on, the candidate will get a N3 million scholarship from Innocent Chukwuma, the founder of the Innoson firm.
However, JAMB charged the candidate with falsifying her UTME scores and inflated them from 249 to 362. However, the applicant stated that the 362 was the mark that appeared on the JAMB website and in the SMS that the board gave to her.
The candidate’s first UTME score was subsequently withdrawn by the testing organisation, and she was disqualified from taking the exam for the following three years.
However, Miss Mmesoma, the applicant, stated in a widely shared video on Monday that the contentious result of 362 she claimed to have received was printed off the JAMB website and that the test body’s accusations had scarred her.
Several Nigerians called for an “independent” investigation into the controversy.
Consequently, the Anambra State Government, last week, set up a panel of inquiry into the controversy.
The eight-member panel, led by professor Nkemdili Nnonyelu, concluded on Friday that Miss Mmesoma had fabricated the 362 score that the JAMB had earlier claimed.
The candidate acknowledged, as stated in the eight-page report, that she had fabricated the outcome on her own before going to a cybercafé to have it printed.
Given that Miss Mmesoma received the scholarship from Innoson Motors in acknowledgment of her allegedly outstanding achievement, the company’s spokesperson, Mr. Osigwe, called the discovery that she cheated on her UTME results “deeply disappointing.”
According to him, the candidate’s manipulation of the results “stands in direct contravention of the values” of the organisation.
“In line with these principles and in response to the confirmed findings, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw the scholarship awarded to Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme. This action is a testament to our unyielding commitment to honesty, integrity, and merit-based recognition.
“We acknowledge that this development is regrettable, and it has undoubtedly caused dismay among those who stood by Miss Joy including her school principal and other well-meaning supporters. However, it is crucial to maintain the integrity of our scholarship program and the values it represents,” he said.
IVM added that it believes in rewarding exceptional students who display not just academic prowess but also embody the values of honesty, transparency, and respect for the processes that govern the educational system in Nigeria.
My children grew up in Ibadan, but I took them back to the North and married them off — visually impaired beggar
Admin“I came to Ibadan, Oyo State 30 years ago I remember that time very well. I was really scared of vehicles, my body was shivering throughout the journey and I was scared it was a big vehicle. I came here to look for food to feed my children. I was left with the children, after my two husbands died. I fell out of love with my first husband after I had two children with him unfortunately he died and I married my second husband who also later died. Both of us were blind and you know some of us are not lucky.”
Rahinatu Ibrahim, popularly called Ganga, recalled with nostalgia when she first embarked on her journey to the South West many years ago from Kano State.
After the demise of her two husbands, the visually impaired woman decided to travel far with her children in search of food to feed them.
Despite being scared of vehicles at that time, the thought of her children starving and her inability to farm made her face her fears. She was determined to conquer.
“My children were young and I couldn’t farm, I did not have the strength to do so, so I had to come here to beg. Nobody was helping me with the children; I was only depending on God. I came here with seven of them and we begged everywhere together and along the line, one of them died here, he was a twin,” she told Saturday Tribune in an interview during the week.
After begging for many years, when her female children were ripe for marriage, Rahinatu took the girls back home and married them off.
“They all grew up here and when they were due for marriage I took them back home and I married them off. Someone asked for one of the girls hands in marriage here in Sabo but I refused, I didn’t want her to marry a Yoruba man and maybe he wasn’t lucky or God didn’t want him to marry her,” she said.
The visually impaired woman said she stopped moving around to beg many years ago after her legs developed some pains and because of the harsh begging conditions, she had to return her granddaughter who was her aid, back to her mother in Kano. “I used to move around to beg a long time ago with my sister but since my leg developed some pains I stopped moving round to beg, I just come to the roadside and sit to beg.”
I’ve stayed to beg at Oke Bola, Oke Ado and many areas with my children. My granddaughter was helping me to cross the road but I had to take her home because it is not easy to be out here under harsh conditions with a child, so, I took her home to her mother.
“After my daughters got married, I travelled home to visit them. I just a returned a couple of days ago; I went for Sallah. My son wanted me to stay longer to rest, he wanted me to wait and return after the raining season but I refused. There is no money in the north; those who stay in the north are trying.
“If you have money and food, no problem, you’d enjoy the north. But this era, everything is hard, food is expensive. We buy a measure of corn for as high as N1,050 and one of my daughter’s husbands abandoned her and her four children. He said he wanted to go and work in Ile Ife and he has refused to go back. With the high cost of goods in the market, I had to send her some money two weeks ago to buy food for the children,” she said.
Rahinatu revealed that the people in Ibadan have been good to her since she moved to the South West as no one has ever talked down or harassed her.
“I thank God because since I came here, no one has ever harassed or taken advantage of me. The people here have been good to me. If someone has not done anything bad to you, you shouldn’t say he did.
“But I can remember one time here at Mobil, there was some crisis. I did not come out to beg that Sunday so I was told what happened. The crisis unsettled us so I went to Apata to beg and that was my first time of going there to beg.
“When I got there, the beggars there chased me away. They said I should not sit there because I was not begging with them. I moved away from them and fortunately one woman gave me a place to sit and that was how I was able to get money to feed that period. After a while, peace returned to Mobil Junction and I came back,” she told Saturday Tribune.
Would she ever go back to live in the north? She revealed that it was not easy begging in the North because “we usually don’t get much alms back home.”
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reiterated its readiness to ensure credible, fair, and reliable assessments in the public examination sector.
The examination body disclosed this in reaction to the report of the inquiry committee set up by the Anambra State Government to look into the controversy surrounding the UTME result of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.
Reacting to the committee’s report, which indicted the pupil for forging her result unaided, JAMB’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, stated in a press release that there has never been any doubt about the credibility of the examination body.
According to him, the committee’s report not only vindicates the body but also reaffirms the fact that the examination body’s system can never be compromised. He added that the board is more determined than ever before in the fight to ensure a clean public examination sector, regardless of distractions from detractors.
While clarifying that the pupil has finally admitted to forging her result, the statement also revealed that Miss Mmesoma’s real age is 19, contrary to the belief held by many that she is 16.
The examination body also warned candidates to refrain from any acts of forgery and other examination irregularities, emphasizing that it will always lead to regret for the culprits.
The board, however, enjoined Nigerians to learn to appreciate and trust their institutions rather than constantly seeking means to bring them down.
Read the full statement below:
“The report of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government, an independent and unbiased body, as demanded by some Nigerians to look into the Mmesoma saga, has vindicated the Board. This has further reinforced the position of the Board that its system was not and cannot be compromised.
“It is to be noted that the Board has built a reputation in terms of the conduct of credible examinations over the years and cannot afford to fail the nation at this critical juncture of its development.
“Therefore, we will not despair in spite of the painful realisation that some Nigerians would do anything to cast aspersions on the good name of the Board.
No fewer than 13 former governors still receive pension allowances as serving senators in the 10th National Assembly amidst cutting the cost of governance talks.
TRIBUNE ONLINE, compiled the names of the former governors who still receive pensions as serving senators.
Full list below;
1. Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) 2007 – 2015
2. Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto) 2007 – 2015
3. Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) 2011 – 2019
4. Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) 2015 – 2023
5. Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) 2015 – 2023
6. Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) 2008 – 2016
7. Ibrahim Dankambo (Gombe) 2011 – 2019
8. Abubakar Bello (Niger) 2015 – 2023
9. Orji Kalu (Abia) 1999 – 2007
10. Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) 2012 – 2020
11. Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe) 2009 – 2019
12. Adamu Aliro (Kebbi) 1999 – 2007
13. Danjuma Goje (Gombe) 2003 – 2011
NB: Former Ogun Governor, Gbenga Daniel (2003 – 2011) was excluded from the list following his recent announcement requesting the state government to stop the payment of his monthly pension as an ex-governor.
Mr. Romanus Ejikeme, the father of Mmesoma Ejikeme, the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate who falsified her result, has tendered an unreserved apology to JAMB and Nigerians.
Recall that eight-member panel set up by Anambra Governor Charles Soludo to investigate the controversies surrounding the results, had exposed the candidate.
JAMB barred Mmesoma from taking its exam for the next three years.
Romanus admitted that he didn’t know where his daughter registered for the examination but he gave her the money for the registration.
Mmesoma’s father had insisted that her daughter did not forge her results saying that she was a hardworking and studious student who did not joke with her studies.
“But I gave her the money for the registration, and I can vouch for her that she cannot forge any result,” Ejikeme had said then.
Backtracking, Mmesoma’s father said: “As I said earlier, my daughter didn’t open up to me on time, she didn’t. Then I realised the mistake she did, I warned and pleaded her not to dent her image.
“I’m still apologising to Nigerians and JAMB to pardon her”.
Former Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo has called on Nigerians to encourage the 19-year-old Anambra student, Mmesoma Ejikeme for scoring 249 in her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Mmesoma has been in the dailies following the forgery of her 362 UTME score which the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) confronted her upon.
She later confessed that her original score was 249, and both JAMB and the Anambra State Government panels instituted to probe the incident submitted that the 362 score was forged.
In his reaction on Twitter on Saturday, Keyamo said Mmesoma did not know the degree of her offence as a teenager but Nigerians could help her through encouragement, adding that many have made grave mistakes as teenagers that never came to bare.
The former minister said Mmesoma is a brilliant teen to have scored 249, and that her family should help in making a public apology to JAMB and Nigeria as a whole.
Keyamo wrote, “I deliberately waited for the end of this investigation before commenting on this unfortunate case of our daughter, Mmesoma Ejikeme.
“She’s a brilliant girl, judging by her actual score of 249. The nation should be careful not to destroy her. What she needs is counselling, correction and guidance. She obviously did not know the weight and gravity of what she was doing. As teenagers, most of us made juvenile mistakes that never came to light.
“The parents should encourage her to do a public apology to JAMB, to her family and to Nigerians after which she should be allowed to get her admission based on her actual scores. Anyone still pushing other narratives over this issue is not helping her and her family.
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“It is time to close this very unfortunate chapter and move on. This is my plea.”
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu State has commenced sitting on the petition filed by the Labour Party and its candidate Chijioke Edeoga against the election of Dr Peter Mbah as the governor of the state after the Sallah break.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, the petitioners presented the National Youth Service Corps, as its first witness in defence of their petition.
Edeoga and his party are challenging the election of Governor Mbah on grounds that he did not secure the highest lawful votes cast in the March 18 governorship election and that the respondent, submitted a forged NYSC discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission in an effort to secure his election.
The PUNCH had reported that the Tribunal had earlier subpoenaed NYSC following Petitioners’ application to appear before the panel to certify as true or not its document the respondent (Mbah) had submitted to the electoral umpire before the election.
Testifying before the tribunal on Friday evening, NYSC tendered among others documents including the alleged forged discharge certificate, as well as the original discharge certificate which Mbah ought to have collected.
The NYSC also tendered a letter written by Oma and Partners, an Abuja-based law firm, which had asked the Corps to scrutinise the discharge certificate submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the governor.
The Petitioners, represented by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, who is the lead counsel, alongside Dr Valerie Azinge, SAN, Ifeanyi Ogenyi Esq, and others, led the Petitioners Witness 1 (PW1) in evidence.
The petitioner’s witness 1 is the Director of Certification, NYSC, Aliyu Abdul Mohammed, who adopted his written deposition on oath.
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Awomolo sought to tender the witness’ deposition on oath as evidence before the tribunal.
The third respondent, Peoples Democratic Party, Counsel, Anthony Ani, SAN, objected to the admissibility of the document and opted to move a motion dated and filed on the 7th day of July 2023, which seeks to pray the tribunal to strike out the written deposition on oath of the PW1 on the ground of incompetence.
The 1st respondent, INEC, as well as the 2nd respondent (Peter Mbah), aligned themselves with the submission of Ani and prayed the court to strike out the written deposition of Mohammed (PW1) for lack of competence.
Relying on the Court of Appeal decision in the case of ANDP & anor V INEC as well as that of Damina & anor V Adamu and ors, the respondents’ counsels asked the court to strike out the written deposition on oath of the PW1 for lack of competence.
In response, the petitioners’ lawyers relying on the case of Ararume & anor V INEC, which according to them, is a conflicting decision with the authorities cited by the respondents’ counsel, asked the court to admit the written deposition on oath of the PW1.
In a short ruling, the tribunal admitted the document and reserved ruling on the objections raised by the respondents for final judgement.
The PW1 was then taken in for examination-in-chief.
Mohammed told the tribunal that he acted on a subpoena served on the Director General of the NYSC or any other official to appear before the tribunal to give evidence in order to clear some issues bothering on the certificate purportedly issued by the agency.
The subpoena was admitted in evidence without objection from the respondents and was marked as exhibit PTC/01/06.
Mohammed also tendered his official identity card as a staff of NYSC which was admitted in evidence and marked as exhibit PTC/01/07.
In paragraph three (3) of the Petitioners’ Witness’s deposition on oath, the witness stated that in obedience to the subpoena by the tribunal, he came with the authentic discharge certificate of the governor, as well as the one purportedly given to him.
The respondent’s counsel objected to the admissibility of the documents and reserved their reasons for final written addresses.
The tribunal admitted the documents and marked them as exhibits PTC/ 01/08 a and b.The Petitioners also fielded another witness, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Mary Nneoma Elijah, a principal partner in the law firm of Oma and Partners.
She is the Petitioners’ Witness 2.
The Petitioners’ counsel sought to tender her written deposition on oath as evidence, which was objected to by the respondents’ counsel, citing the same grounds raised in the first stage.
The court admitted the document and reserved the ruling during the judgement.
She also adopted the subpoena of the tribunal dated the 21st day of June 2023, which was admitted and marked as exhibit PTC/01/09.
The witness’ letter to INEC, as well as the reply given by INEC, was sought to be tendered by the petitioners’ counsel amid objections from the respondents’ counsel.
However, the letters, as well as the discharged certificate were admitted and marked as exhibits PTC/01/11 a, b & c respectively.
Also, a letter addressed to the presiding justice of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, for the production of the appointment letter dated 14 July 2003, appointing Barr. Peter Mbah as the Chief of Staff to the then governor of Enugu state, Dr Chimaroke Nnamani in the same year he (Mbah) claimed he was serving, also admitted in evidence amidst objections and marked as exhibit PTC/01/13 a&b.
During cross-examination, the 1st respondent’s counsel, Mr Abdul Mohammed, applying for the subpoena, asked “confirm to this tribunal that the subpoena did not ask you about anything at the Federal High court”.
In response, PW2 said, ” True”.
Mr Abdul Mohammed further asked the PW2: “Confirm to this tribunal that you have given to the petitioners the contents of these letters at the time they were preparing this petition”.
In reply, the PW2 said, “It’s false, the letters are public documents which are in the public domain. Anybody can ask for the letters and they will be given to him.
The matter was adjourned to Tuesday, 11 July 2023 for further hearing.
There is tension among residents of Isheri-Idimu community, in Alimosho Local Government of Lagos State, following the discovery of a spot where oil thieves siphoned fuel from pipeline.
The Lagos State police operative have cordoned off the spot and currently keeping an eye on it, waiting for officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to fix the damaged pipeline.
From the spot on Pipeline Road/Segun Irefin Road junction, near the Jonathan Estate, Isheri-Iminu, oil thieves stole petrol in the middle of the night.
Last night, it was gathered that the oil thieves operated at about 1am and succeeded in filling three fuel tankers before residents alerted the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS), whose operatives stormed the spot.
It was further gathered that when the RRS team arrived, the oil thieves, numbering more than 60, scampered and abandoned one 11, 000 fuel tanker, which was yet to be filled. Some arrests were also said to have been made during the operation.
Incidentally, the illegal bunkering spot is said to be behind Idimu Police Station, which did not respond to earlier distress calls, prompting the residents to alert RRS operatives.
While the oil stealing was going on, the whole area was plunged into darkness as public power supply was switched off, which the residents said was unusual.
THE WHISTLER understands that 10 days ago, the illegal bunkerers operated from the same spot, which had put residents of the area on the watch.
In the illegal operation, the oil thieves allegedly loaded three 33,000 litre tankers in the dead of the night successfully.
The spot where the bunkering takes place is in front of an array of shops, which are usually closed for business before 10pm.
Residents said that the the activities of the illegal bunkerers must have gone unnoticed for long because they usually operate in the night when residents have gone to sleep and the place deserted.
The residents are calling on the official of NNPCL to come and seal the compromised pipeline to avoid fire outbreak.
Also, they are calling on the authorities to fix the Pipeline Road and the adjoining ones to make it impossible for illegal bunkers to tamper with pipeline.
Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, has talked about the embattled Anambra student, Ejikeme Mmesoma.
Ezekwesili, on Saturday, recommended counselling for Mmesoma who was accused by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board of forging her 2023 UTME results.
Mmesoma, according to the reports of an independent panel of investigators set up by the Anambra state government confessed to forging her results unaided.
The PUNCH had earlier reported that Ezekwesili blasted the examination Board for exposing Mmesoma. She also called for an independent investigation.
But in a statement posted via her Twitter account on Saturday, Ezekwesili said, “I have just read the report of the Committee set up by Anambra State Government to investigate and report their independent findings on the Mmesoma and JAMB saga.
“I am satisfied with the process and findings of their investigation which gave Mmesoma a fair hearing to enable the Committee gather all facts.
“It was necessary to have independent evidence that the result Mmesoma laid claim to publicly was not only fake but that the forgery was personally orchestrated by her. There are usually syndicates at the center of perpetration of exam malpractices in Nigeria but it appears not to be so in Mmesoma’s case from the facts of the Committee’s report.
“Mmesoma’s action has consequences. I, therefore, support the sanctions imposed by JAMB as a deterrent to all who participate in the systemic exam malpractices within our educational system.
“I also recommend sustained counseling for Mmesoma by the family, school and church to support her as she reflects on this tragic episode and makes a decision to embrace values and rewards of effort while eschewing dishonest gain for the rest of her life.”
7Th July, 2023
Prof. C.O Soludo,
Governor, Anambra State.
Mr. Governor,
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA'S JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY
Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19-year-old student of Anglican Girls' Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised. This has elicited interest and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference; I. Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma's JAMB Results and associated documents II. Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. III. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.
The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls' Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for an interactive session with the Committee. JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head of Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate's UTME Results to wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249. JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of an aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249. Besides, a number of red flags were also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, and Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others. It was also evident that even the centre name "Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet. In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma's submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to having given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using the same phone Airtel Number. According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafe (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated. The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING. In their own submissions, the Principal Anglican Girls' Secondary school, Uruagu Nnewi, and the Education Secretary — Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed shock at what transpired where in their presence, Mmesoma admitted to having manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the State Government.
COMMITTEE'S FINDINGS
- The results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249
- The results paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 361 are fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name and other infractions.
- Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.
- The Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School - Mrs. Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- That Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma tenders an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the School (Anglican Girls' Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi) and the Anambra State Government. This should be done immediately.
- Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo psychological counselling and therapy.
- All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to the guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body.
CONCLUSION
The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for their diligent handling of the matter and the information supplied about the interface with the candidate (see attached). We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain.
Finally, we thank Mr. Governor for setting up this Committee, and, for the confidence reposed in the committee.
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The eight-memner panel set up by Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State to investigate the controversies surrounding the results claimed by a candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Mmesoma Ejikeme, has submitted its report.
Headed by Nkemdili Nnonyelu, a professor, the committee confirmed Miss Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
According to the report, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the candidate confirmed she single-handedly forged the result before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.
Christian Aburime, the chief press secretary to Governor Charles Soludo, confirmed the authenticity of the report to this newspaper.
The committee’s report is reproduced below.
7th July, 2023
Prof. C.C Soludo,
Governor, Anambra State.
Mr. Governor, REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON EJIKEME JOY MMESOMA’S JAMB SCORE CONTROVERSY
Recall Mr. Governor that with the recent release of scores of candidates who applied for admission by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and subsequent announcement of Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, a 19 year old student of Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi, from Enugu State, protested to the State Government that she scored 362 and ought to have been so recognised. This has elicited interests and generated serious controversy and misgivings among the general public that the State Government in its wisdom decided to constitute a Committee of Inquiry to look into the underlisted terms of reference;
Review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB Results and associated documents Conduct interviews with relevant parties, including Elikeme Joy Mmesoma, JAMB Officials and any other individual(s) involved in the process. Provide recommendations based on the findings of the investigation.
The Committee invited Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, the Principal of Anglican Girls Secondary School, and officials of JAMB for interactive session with the Committee. JAMB officials led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head Public Affairs presented the detailed processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy changes that have occurred in the release of UTME scores since 2021 and what specifically transpired between the candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with registration number: 20230639047FF in her quest to obtain her JAMB score.
JAMB revealed the different times that Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma made several requests to JAMB portal asking for her results at different hours, and each of these times (four in number), she received in her phone, same results from JAMB indicating candidate’s UTME Results to wit: Eng: 64, Phy:54, Bio: 74, Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249. JAMB disclosed that the candidate was well informed of her correct score from JAMB. Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a different registration number showing a UTME result of aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The results she sent differed substantially from the standard JAMB format where she got an appropriate rebuttal stating her real score of 249.
Besides, a number of red-flags was also highlighted by JAMB officials showing a different date of birth, different Registration Number, Notification of results template that has been discarded since 2021, amongst others. It was also evident that even the centre name “Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development as it was known before now) used for the examination was also manipulated where the candidate used the old name of the centre (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet.
In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired. She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number.
According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafé (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated.
The Committee tried to find out the motive behind her action, but Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma said NOTHING. In their own submissions, the Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary school, Uruagu Nnewi, and the Education Secretary-Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed shock at what transpired where in their presence, Mmesoma admitted to have manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the State Government.
COMMITTEE’S FINDINGS
The results released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249
2 The results paraded by Epheme Joy Mmesoma with aggregate score of 362 is fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations In the registration number, date of birth centre name and other Infractions to Mimesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using her phone.
The Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary School-Mrs. Edu Uche and the Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Epkeme Jay Mmesoma
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. That Elikeme Joy Mmesoma tenders an unreserved written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (AMB), the School (Anglican Girls Secondary School, Uruagu Nnew) and the Anambra State Government. This should be done immediately.
2 Elikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo a psychological counselling and therapy
3. All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body.
The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for their diligent handling of the matter and the information supplied about the interface with the candidate (see attached). We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions and deceptions that have been in the public domain.
CONCLUSION
Finally, we thank Mr. Governor for setting up this Committee, and, for the confidence reposed in the committee.
The attention of Governor Ademola Adeleke has been drawn to a fake news alleging that the state chief executive has appointed his supposed daughter in person of Adenike Folasade Adeleke and his alleged uncle, Prof Maroof Adeleke into the State cabinet.
There is no truth whatsoever in the report as neither of the two nominees are daughter or uncle of the Governor. Prof Adeleke was born at Ilesa and hails from Osogbo, the state capital. Mrs Adeleke is the daughter of Chief Omidiran of Osogbo Land and wife of the late Executive Governor of Osun State, Senator Isiaka Adeleke.
We had expected those pushing the fake news to engage in basic investigative journalism if they have any altruistic motive. If however the goal is to malign the state Governor, the truth can not be hidden as the nominees are bona-fide indigenes of Osogbo Land.
We therefore urge members of the public to ignore those merchants of fake news. No biological member of the Governor's family is included in the cabinet list. Governor Adeleke is committed to fair distribution of appointments based on competency, spread and sectoral representation.
Signed:
Mallam Olawale Rasheed,
Spokesperson to the State Governor
Globally, success or failure in the examination is the criterion for future prospects. Too much emphasis is placed on paper qualifications without any thought of the ability of the individual to put into practice the knowledge he claimed to have acquired.
In this respect, certificates are seen as means to an end. Thus, all means whether straight or crooked are employed to acquire them.
It has been revealed that the desperation by candidates for the high scores to enable them to study their dream courses at the university and pressure from their parents push them into falsifying their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results. The culprits who were nabbed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and confessed to falsifying their JAMB results also disclosed how examination syndicates which specialised in fake upgrade of results of candidates operated.
In the recent case, Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, Anambra, sat for the 2023 UTME and claimed to have scored 362. On July 2 this year however, JAMB, in a statement by its Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr Fabian Benjamin accused the girl of manipulating her UTME score from 249 to 362. Miss Mmesoma and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have therefore engaged in accusations and counter-accusations over the authenticity of the candidate’s claim of scoring 362 in the 2023 UTME.
With the acclaimed 362 score, Mmesoma said she was the highest scorer in the examination as against the 360 reportedly scored by another candidate, Umeh Ukechinyere. JAMB said that based on its record, Miss Ukechinyere scored the highest mark in the 2023 UTME and not Miss Mmesoma.
In a video which has since gone viral on social media, Miss Mmesoma displayed a notification of a result slip containing the 362 score, which she claimed was generated from the JAMB portal. But the examination body has since disclaimed the document, saying it stopped using such format for result slips in 2021. Meanwhile, JAMB has announced the withdrawal of the candidate’s 249 score, and suspended her from taking the examinations for the next three years.
It’s unfair, it wasn’t my fault – Mmesoma
Explaining her role in the matter, Mmesoma said it was not her fault and that the three-year ban placed on her by JAMB was unfair. She said; “After our exams, I went to JAMB portal to get my result but it directed me to another server and that was where I printed that slip from. I did not go to any computer centre. The only SMS I sent to them was through the JAMB support system and there was no reply. After all said and done, I now saw that I got 249. Then I sent them a text message through the JAMB support system to know what really happened”.
On the three-year ban placed on her by JAMB and the withdrawal of her result, Mmesoma said; “I am sad about it because it was not my fault that I printed my result like that and they said that I forged it. It is not my fault. So, it is not fair for JAMB to ban me”.
Sources at the JAMB however said the operators of the portal from where she printed the fake result are already on the run and the security operatives are on their trail.
Why Mmesoma’s case was trending ——JAMB
Earlier, JAMB spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin said the examination body has nothing against Mmesoma as it has been dealing with such issues before now. He said the only reason the current incident has been trending was because Mmesoma consistently insisted that the fake result she paraded was real, despite being confronted with superior evidence of her original result.
“It is a very simple issue that if anyone looks at the document that was being paraded, you could see that there was a problem. We have a process, from registration, conduct of exam and result management. The result she paraded was last used in 2021. Even the address of the JAMB CBT centre on her slip was not complete. We send out complete addresses. Otherwise, how is a candidate supposed to locate his or her centre? We don’t have anything against this girl. The highest score is from the same Anambra and also Igbo. If you go to the internet, you will see very funny softwares on how to fake JAMB results for fun. They tag it for fun, meaning that it does not reflect in the database of JAMB. The software is JAMB fake results for fun”, Benjamin added.
I knew result Mmesoma was parading was fake——Chidoka, owner of the CBT Centre
But in what seems to be in defence of JAMB, Mr Osita Chidoka, Nigeria’s former Aviation Minister whose foundation owns the Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre where the embattled Ejikeme Mmesoma sat her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has spoken up on what he knows about the controversies surrounding the result obtained by the candidate. Mr Chidoka raised some questions that suggest that the candidate’s paraded score is fake.
In an opinion piece he wrote, Mr Chidoka said: “Miss Nmesoma Ejikeme took her 2023 JAMB at my foundation’s Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Centre at Obosi. I got some calls from worried friends about Nmesoma’s result, which had Thomas Chidoka Center as her examination centre. I allayed their worries that the result issue had nothing to do with the examination centre.
“I observed two significant red flags when I saw her result online. First, our centre is no longer addressed as Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development on the JAMB portal since 2021. The correct name on the JAMB portal and Main Examination Slip is Nkemefuna Foundation (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development). Due to the difference in our CAC registration details, JAMB insisted we change to Nkemefuna Foundation with Thomas Chidoka in a bracket as an identifier. We implemented the name change in 2021. Her result showing Thomas Chidoka without the Nkemefuna Foundation, which was on her Main Examination slip, raised my suspicion about the genuineness of the result. The second red flag was the result template. A cursory review of some of those who took the last examination at our centre showed a different result slip template with the candidate’s passport picture, JAMB watermarks, and no mention of the name of the examination centre. I gave the young Nmesoma the benefit of the doubt and waited to see if she would explain how she got the result, which is obviously not the result template that Jamb used in 2023. I knew it was fake”.
We’re considering prosecuting Mmesoma, others —JAMB
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB has said it was considering prosecuting all those who forged its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to serve as deterrent to people with intention of faking its results in future.
JAMB particularly said the issue of Mmesoma Joy Ejikeme, the Anambra schoolgirl, who scored 249 but manipulated it to 360 and one Atung Gerald from Kaduna, who never participated in the 2023 UTME but forged the result and scored himself 380, will not be swept under the carpet.
Although the board said it has concluded its investigation on Mmesoma, it said it would only act when investigations being handled by independent investigative agency it involved in the matter was released.
Spokesperson of JAMB, Fabian Benjamin who said this on Friday, ruled out sole involvement of Mmesoma in the unwholesome act, noting that she may have been assisted by some dubious elements to perpetuate the act.
“Mmesoma is actually a teenager, that is our challenge now but the security agency involved in her case is profiling her. We suspect she might not be the original initiator of the act. Whoever is behind it will be exposed and prosecuted appropriately with others found involved in similar act. We found a case of one person in Kaduna State who did not obtain UTME document at all and did not write our examination but he went somewhere, forged result and scored himself 380 and he was being celebrated before we exposed him, this character will also be prosecuted, “he said.
Culprits’ confession
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) smashed a syndicate which specialized in fake upgrade of results of candidates that took the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The syndicate had opened a WhatsApp account to trick gullible candidates who wanted to increase their score in order to have undeserved advantage. Parading a kingpin and agent of the syndicate in Abuja, the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said the culprit was arrested during a courtesy call by a delegation of Public Complaints Commission (PCC).
The JAMB Registrar said the suspect named Adah Eche sat the 2019 UTME and scored 153 but decided to engage an examination syndicate to increase his scores. The suspect who doubled as a middleman for the candidates seeking higher scores collected huge sums of money from these candidates for onward transmission to the syndicate. The Board got overwhelming evidence of payments and banking transactions in connection with result upgrades during his interrogation as well as other documents.
According to Prof Oloyede, “following the complaint by the candidate and the visit to PCC, we decided to pick his letter of complaint and two others to address their issues and he happened to be the first person we picked and he actually wrote a letter of complaint to us knowing full well that he faked his result.
What we did was to invite him to come and pick his admission letter and he came. What such people do not know is that we have a bar code for every result which helps us verify its authenticity but this fake one has the barcode of a supermarket and was reading invalid barcode on our own platform.
“We have checked our own platform and seen that he has checked his result three consecutive times via 55019 and was replied same number of times with his original result which is 153, yet he insisted that he did not know the one with 290 was fake.”
Prof. Oloyede said the suspect owned up to the crime when confronted with overwhelming evidence of his criminal acts and printout of faked 200 score for himself, before the purported upgrade to 290 which he claimed to have originated from JAMB result checker code “55019”.
Detailed investigation revealed that Mr. Adah Eche was not alone but had been patronised for possible illicit upgrade and faking of result by some candidates whose names, registration numbers were made available to us by Mr. Eche. The Board therefore withdraws and invalidates the results of the four candidates found to have been involved in the illicit attempt to fake JAMB result.
Also, on July 4 2019 JAMB apprehended one Cletus Kokowa for ‘upgrading’ his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Board (UTME) score from 162 to 206 with the aid of a fraudster. Kokowa with candidate registration number 95329290ED became the second candidate to be apprehended with the aid of an intelligence gathering mechanism deployed by the Board after Adah Eche was apprehended for a similar offence the previous month.
Kokowa confessed before the Management of the Board that he paid ten thousand naira (N10, 000) to an examination syndicate to upgrade his score after contacting them through a WhatsApp group a few weeks earlier. The syndicate had informed him that his score could be upgraded from 162 to 206. He added that the fraudsters later sent a fake result screenshot depicting the new score of 206 to him.
During investigation, he said, “those guys sent a mail to me that they could help me upgrade my score. I then sent them my registration number and email. When the results were out, they sent a screenshot of 206 which they claimed was my score. Then, one of them called me asking me to pay them their money. I later went to JAMB website to check and found my score was still 162. I was confused. I had heard that upgrading scores is impossible, an attempt to do it is an offence but I didn’t really believe it. I didn’t tell my daddy and my uncle about my dealings with the syndicate.”
However, when Kokowa’s result remained unchanged, in the JAMB portal, his father wrote a letter of complaint to the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, stating, inter alia, that, “I am craving your indulgence to quickly rectify the score to place my child on good stead to secure admission in his second choice of institution because your inability to swiftly address the issue at hand has led to forfeiture of my son’s Nigerian Defence Academy admission opportunity”. The Board subsequently invited Kokowa who came with his uncle, an army officer. After investigations, he confessed to the crime and was handed over to law enforcement agents.
The Registrar said, “One of the popular claims candidates usually make is that JAMB issued two different UTME results to them. It is not true because their results were processed using cutting-edge information and communication technology tools. When this boy came with his complaint, we applied to appropriate quarters to furnish us with his records and it was discovered that he had contacted fraudsters who gave him a fake result. In fact, what we discovered was that the result given to him was a superimposition of another candidate’s result on his own”.
Son of Professor of Medicine nabbed
Another candidate, Kingsley Unekwe, son of a Professor of Medicine in one of the leading Nigerian universities was nabbed by the Board for tampering with his UTME result. Unekwe has petitioned JAMB that he had been issued two different results and was subsequently invited to come and substantiate his claim. The Board, through its instruments and findings, was able to establish, in the presence of his mother, that Unekwe had tampered with his UTME result.
The young man thereafter confessed that he had contracted a ‘result upgrade’ syndicate to falsify his result. As a result, his original score of 201 was jerked up to 269. This he did to enable him pursue his dream of studying medicine at the university.
When asked as to why he engaged in the nefarious act, he claimed it was the pressure from his parents that he should study medicine that forced him to seek ways of falsifying his score as the original score from JAMB would not get him into medicine. Unekwe pleaded guilty, feigning ignorance of the seriousness of his crime and asked the Board to forgive him for his action.
Unekwe was the fifth candidate to be apprehended by the Board for result falsification.
How I manipulated my score —Chinedu
Chinedu Ifesinachi John, a 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidate, who had planned to study medicine at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, also confessed that the fear that he might not be offered the programme of his choice with the score he had, propelled him to alter his UTME result. On further interrogation, he stated that he used the telephone number of his sister, Chinecheremi John Ifemkpa, and saved her number as ‘55019’ a sort code used by JAMB for official communications with candidates to create profiles, check UTME results among others. He added that he simply used the number to send the edited result from his sister’s phone to his own for it to appear as if it was sent by JAMB to substantiate his allegation of multiple results.
The journey of his confession was very interesting and dramatic. The first stage started with Chinedu alleging that in 2019, his JAMB score was tampered with as well as his 2020 UTME.
Chinedu, a son of a contractor, had through his lawyer, Barrister Akaiwe Ikeazor, petitioned JAMB alleging that the Board had tampered with his 2021 UTME result while praying that he should be allowed to take the UTME again. He claimed that the Board had issued him two results: the first reading 380, while the second one was alleged to have been 265.
The Board ignored his letter knowing that he was parading a manipulated result as the Board had already identified and flagged eleven candidates including Chinedu, who had manipulated their 2021 UTME results and forwarded same to the Vice-Chancellors of their chosen institutions. However, when his lawyer wrote a second letter and threatened to press for N1billion damages, the Board then felt that it was necessary for it to do the needful.
The Board therefore invited the candidate to come forward with his lawyer and substantiate his claims. Poised to make its investigation open and transparent to all stakeholders, the Board invited the Educational Correspondents Association of Nigeria, Public Complaints Commission, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Nigeria Human Rights Commission, SERVICOM, representatives of security agencies, among others, to witness the proceedings to ensure that fairness and equity were done to all parties.
The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, after listening to Chinedu’s lawyer and father, who had accompanied him to the Board’s Headquarters, gave the duo five minutes to meet privately with Chinedu to ask him to confess his manipulation of the result and if he does not and the truth is placed before him it will be too late as he would be handed over to the police.
The second stage of the drama unfolded after the recommended meeting with Chinedu and he had remained adamant. JAMB then asked him to present his evidence as he claimed that a text message was sent to him. When he showed the message on his phone, the technical team knew the message was faked as one of the security features was absent, a signature sign, featured by other messages that emanated from the Board’s 55019.
JAMB went further by calling for the history of its communications with Chinedu from the Telco number being used by Chinedu. The details of all messages sent to him were displayed from the creation of profile for registration up to the request for the result and what was sent to him. It was at this stage that his lawyer got a rude awakening to the futility of the case. Furthermore, it was in the course of the proceedings that it came to light that Chinedu must be one of those candidates thrown up by tutorial centres and when confronted with this fact, he confessed that he belonged to a tutorial group. The modus operandi of the group was to promise candidates all kinds of scores.
It was, therefore, owing to the refusal of the candidate to own up to his crime, that the Board, through its security instruments, had proceeded to establish, in the presence of all that the message sent to Chinedu came from a phone number saved as ‘55019’ which, as he later confessed, belonged to his sister who was also a UTME candidate.
A pensive and remorseful Chinedu pleaded guilty to the crime after he was confronted with the facts of what he had done as he pleaded for clemency. Chinedu had then turned towards his father, who had vowed that his son could not do anything untoward, “I’m so sorry for putting you through this embarrassing situation.
I was afraid I’ll not get the programme I wanted and had to do this, I’ve learnt my lesson.” He said, “In 2021, I decided to leave medicine and surgery for them. So I picked petroleum engineering. When the result came it was not what I expected. To ensure that I succeeded in getting the Board to reschedule me for another examination, I used my sister’s telephone number which I had saved as 55019, type the results that bore 380 and sent it to myself.” Chinedu, who had sat the 2019, 2020 and 2021 UTME, had disclosed that he had wanted to study medicine and surgery at the University of Ibadan in 2019 and 2020.
Baffled by the confession of his client, the lawyer said, “I am shocked and very embarrassed by this boy’s attitude. I had asked him several times but he kept telling me lies. This circumstance has further enhanced my belief in the credibility of JAMB as an institution and Prof. Oloyede as an epitome of integrity. However, I plead for mercy for my client.”
Governor ‘Seyi Makinde of Oyo State re-opened the record earlier set by late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, five years ago in the state by elevating the status of members of the Olubadan-in-Council to crown-wearing high chiefs (kings).
Saturday Vanguard recalls that the then Olubadan, late Oba Saliu Adetunji and some of his chiefs, among whom were the then Otun Olubadan (now Olubadan), Lekan Balogun; Balogun of Ibadan land, Owolabi Olakulehin and others who are also members of the Olubadan-In-Council had been engaged in a conflict.
The crisis reached its peak in August 2017 when late Governor Ajimobi, presented staffs of office to about 21 chiefs who were promoted to the status of kings.
The crises between late Oba Adetunji, and his High chiefs was put to rest when Ajimobi’s successor, Makinde withdrew their crowns as part of the condition to settle out of court.
The Court of Appeal in Ibadan had on August 23 last year, referred parties in the controversial coronation to a lower court.
Meanwhile, Governor Makinde about four months ago, sought the approval of the state House of Assembly to amend section 28 of the Oyo State Chieftaincy Law 2023 to allow traditional heads to wear beaded crowns based on the requests to the state government by the high chiefs.
The governor said his request to seek the approval of the assembly to review the chieftaincy law was in order to further improve the process.
He said the proposed amendment, when fully effective, would empower him as the sole authority without consultations with the Chiefs to grant approvals for wearing of beaded crowns.
By this move, Ibadan has one Olubadan that becomes the imperial majesty and ten senior ranking obas.
The ascension line to the Olubadan remains unchanged as the Otun and Osi lines continue in the historical path to oba.
The installation witnessed a mammoth crowd which was held at the ancient Mapo Hall, Ibadan on Friday, with the presence of traditional rulers from neighbouring Ogun and Osun States who stormed the city to rejoice with the new kings.
At the installation, Makinde said: “We are not changing the history but promoting and elevating the Ibadan traditional hierarchy. The coronation of the new Obas will not undermine the authority of the Olubadan nor alter the Olubadan succession arrangements in anyway. Our administration is rather consolidating and elevating the status of Olubadan.”
With a stiff resistance from one of the High Chiefs in the Olubadan-In-Council, Rashidi Ladoja who opposed the development, not a few residents and indigenes of Ibadan had also voiced their opposition to the re-enthronement of more obas in Ibadan, with the former Governor Ladoja challenging Makinde’s move. Makinde noted that the consenting authority is the Olubadan and not the governor.
He added that the elevation was in line with what the people of the ancient city requested.
He said, “We are here for one thing, the Olubadan of Ibadan is crowning his High Chiefs as Obas. It is not the government that is giving the High Chiefs crowns. I am not in the line. What is happening today is internal. If the royal father said there is a need for reform, me, as the governor, will support them. Out of the 11 High Chiefs we have in Ibadan, 10 of them have been crowned today. Even in a democracy, the majority will have its way while the minority will have their say and we have had them, and anyone that is not satisfied can go to Court.”