Mmesoma Ejikeme, an Anambra State pupil, appeared before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives in Abuja on Wednesday for forging her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result. The teenager, who had falsely presented herself as the 2023 UTME top scorer with a manipulated score of 362 (originally 249), tendered an apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for her misconduct.
Prior to her admission of forgery, Mmesoma engaged in accusations and counter-accusations with JAMB, which led to the exam body imposing a three-year ban on her. However, the House of Representatives intervened, calling for a stay of action on the imposed sanction.
During the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government to investigate the case, Mmesoma finally confessed to forging her result. Subsequently, she appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee specifically established to address the matter.
At the hearing, Mmesoma humbly pleaded for leniency, urging JAMB to reconsider the three-year ban. She admitted her wrongdoing and expressed remorse for the pain she had caused. Mmesoma attributed her actions to ignorance and acknowledged the mistake of obtaining her fake result from a non-JAMB portal.
However, the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, countered her statement, asserting that Mmesoma intentionally conspired with others to forge her result. He emphasized that JAMB had taken strict actions against over eight UTME centres found engaging in results manipulation.