Anambra Panel Indicts Mmesoma for Forgery, Recommends Apology to JAMB

• Says candidate admitted manipulating UTME scores

•Confession, panel’s report have vindicated us, says JAMB

 •Innonson withdraws scholarship

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja, David-Chudyy Eleke in Awka and Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

 The eight-man panel set up by Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State to investigate the alleged forgery of the result of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) by Mmesoma Joy Ejikeme, has indicted her of manipulating her examination result.

While the candidate has also admitted to manipulating her result, the panel has consequently demanded that she should tender an unreserved written apology to JAMB.

This is coming as the examination body has declared that the outcome of the investigative report has vindicated its position that Mmesoma forged the UTME result.

Also following her confession and the indictment by the panel, Innoson Vehicles has withdrawn the N3 million scholarship awarded to her.

Miss Ejikeme had claimed to have scored 362 against her authentic score of 249, prompting JAMB to issue a statement disclaiming the result.

Despite JAMB’s position, the 19-year-old went on social media to display the result, insisting she never tampered with her result. This forced the Anambra State Government to set up a panel to probe the development.

But while appearing before the panel, Ejikeme, according to the panel’s report made available to journalists yesterday, admitted falsifying the result without the knowledge and assistance of anybody.

In an eight-page report, the panel said it discovered that the candidate changed her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result after she openly confessed to doing so.

According to the panel, Mmesoma admitted in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by JAMB officials was the true description of what transpired. 

The report said she also admitted to having manipulated the result by herself unaided, using her Airtel phone number. 

In its recommendations, the panel asked her to write an apology to JAMB;  her school, Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi; and the Anambra State Government. 

It also recommended that Mmesoma should undergo psychological counseling and therapy.

The committee report reads in part, “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: English: 64, Physics:54, Biology: 74, Chemistry: 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 UTM E result of the aggregate score of 362, with English: 98, Physics: 89, Biology: 94, and Chemistry: 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, several red flags were also highlighted by JAMB officials showing 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 admitted 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 submissions, the Principal of 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) concerning the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249

“The results paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 362 1s fake as buttressed by the very significant and instructive variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name, and other Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself,” the report explained.

According to the panel, 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.

Confession, Panel’s Report Have Vindicated Us, Says JAMB

Reacting, JAMB said the outcome of the investigative report has vindicated its position that Mmesoma forged the UTME result where she scored herself 360.

According to a statement by its Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the examination body vowed that it would not relent in its efforts to sanitise the public examination sector.

The statement read in parts: “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 despite the painful realisation that some Nigerians would do anything to cast aspersions on the good name of the Board,” JAMB explained.

JAMB appealed to well-meaning Nigerians, who may wish to support and encourage healthy competition by awarding scholarships and other honours to deserving candidates not to be discouraged but should always endeavour to verify from us any claim, no matter how innocuous, put forward by candidates.

It advised that Mmesoma’s case should serve as an eye-opener to those who hold the view that anything goes in Nigeria, adding that it is a great agency with great potential.

Innoson Withdraws Scholarship

Meanwhile, Innoson Vehicles has withdrawn the N3 million scholarship awarded to Ejikeme after her confession that her UTME result was forged.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Head of Corporate Communications, Innoson Vehicles, Cornel Osigwe,  the company said it made the “difficult decision” to withdraw the scholarship “in response to the confirmed findings”.

“In recent days, we have been involved in the process of investigating allegations surrounding the 2023 UTME examination results of one of our scholarship recipients, Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme. It was reported initially that Miss Joy scored exceptionally high on the exam, a feat that led to her being awarded a scholarship by our company,” the company said.

“The findings from this rigorous investigation have now confirmed that Miss Joy Mmesoma Ejikeme did manipulate her UTME results. This conclusion is deeply disappointing and stands in direct contravention of the values we hold dear at Innoson Vehicles, particularly those that underscore our scholarship program.

 “In line with these principles and 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,” the company explained.

I Support JAMB’s Sanctions, Says Ezekwesili

 Also, former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has expressed her satisfaction with the findings of the panel and has also thrown her weight behind the sanctions imposed by JAMB on the candidate.

“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,” she posted on Twitter yesterday.

Ezekwesili said Mmesoma’s action has consequences, adding that she supports the sanctions imposed by JAMB on her.

“I, therefore, support the sanctions imposed by JAMB as a deterrent to all who participate in the systemic exam malpractices within our educational system,” she said.

Also commenting, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Dr.Garba Abari, has urged Nigerians to have faith in the country’s institutions by shunning uncomplimentary comments on social media whenever they are enmeshed in controversies.

Abari, who appealed yesterday at a capacity building on Fact-checking organised by the NOA in Abuja, described such action as a dangerous development to the integrity of Nigeria’s education sector.

“We must believe in the integrity of our national institutions. Where there are in-house rules and regulations, the public should not play around issues that could be easily investigated. Let us allow all the investigation to be concluded before we would start making dangerous comments.”