[Details] Nmesoma Admits She Forges 362 JAMB Score – Panel

Panel of enquiry set up by Anambra State Government under the leadership of Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo to look into the controversial issue of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB result involving Ejikeme Joy Nmesoma has submitted its report on Friday, stating, Nmesoma admitted during the panel sitting that she singlehandedly forged the 362 JAMB score after her real result of 249 was seen by her on the JAMB result portal.

The Panel report indicated that Ejikeme Joy Nmesoma saw her real score of 249 on the JAMB result portal with SMS of confirmation sent to her four times she checked the result online same day.

Nmesoma had presented the 362 JAMB result score with the intention to earn the state government scholarship award and ₦3 million from the founder of Innoson motors.

Nmesoma had claimed that the 362 JAMB score was her real result, insisting, she printed the result from JAMB result port even after the management of the examination body denied the result and withdrew its original result and banned the student from sitting for subsequent JAMB examinations for three years.

A statement released by the board’s Head of Public Affairs and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday July 2, JAMB said Mmesoma scored 249 in the examination as against the 362 she is parading.

“The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates for being high scorers in the 2023 UTME.

“The Board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake. In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.

“The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded a ₦3 million scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma.

“She was even set to be honoured by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had actually scored 249 and not 362 she claimed. She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarship and other recognition”, JAMB had said in quote.

The issue became a matter of national and international discuss as many felt the JAMB management was too in hurry to take a decision without proper verification.

This, the Anambra State government led by Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo set up a panel of enquiry made up by Professors to look into the issue.

Excerpts of the panel report reads below:

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 Ejikeme 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: 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 UTME result of 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, 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 (with) 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

1. 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 Ejikeme 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.

• Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma 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 Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. 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.

2. Ejikeme 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.

CONCLUSION

The Committee of Inquiry commends Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board
(UAMB) 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.