Fraudulent UTME Top Scorer Exposed and Penalised
Ejikeme Mmesoma faces the withdrawal of her UTME result and prosecution for fraudulently inflating her score to 362 from an actual 249. The deceit earned her a N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors and recognition from the Anambra State government.
The credibility of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results for 2023 was shaken when the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) discovered fraudulent activities by certain candidates. One such case, causing a considerable stir, involves Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who falsely announced herself as the top scorer in the examination. As the Board’s investigations further reveal, she manually inflated her result to unethically attract benefits, such as a N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors and a planned recognition from the Anambra State government.
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Clearing the Muddy Waters: JAMB’s Statement
In a recent statement, JAMB addressed the rising concerns over the integrity of UTME results due to the scandalous activities of candidates like Ejikeme. The Board expressed its distress over the multiple false results being paraded by several candidates. It disclosed that these candidates, who claimed to have obtained high scores, have used deceptive software packages to manipulate their results.
Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma was singled out as the most distressing case. She claimed to have scored 362 in the UTME, which led to her receiving a N3 million scholarship from Chief Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Motors. She was also set to be honoured by the Anambra State government. However, her claims were debunked when the government official contacted JAMB to verify her results. It was found that Ejikeme had only scored 249, far from her declared score of 362.
A Warning Against Deception: Further Cases
Beyond Ejikeme’s case, the Board also identified other fraudulent candidates. One such individual is Atung Gerald from Kaduna, who claimed to have scored 380 in the examination. His ethnic group had begun advocating for special recognition for him based on this score. However, JAMB revealed that Atung hadn’t even procured the UTME application documents, let alone sat the exam.
The Board advised the public to cross-check any high-score claims with it to prevent honour being conferred on undeserving candidates. It further warned against fraudulent software that can fake exam results, which unscrupulous candidates are using to deceive the public and defraud well-meaning Nigerians.
The Consequences: JAMB’s Stand on Fraudulent Activity
Addressing the ramifications of Ejikeme’s fraudulent activities, the Board declared that it would withdraw her result and subject her to prosecution. They appreciate the actions of individuals like Dr. Innocent Chukwuma, who aim to celebrate and foster academic excellence. However, the Board emphasizes the need for such benefactors to confirm the authenticity of candidates’ results with the Board to avoid promoting dishonest behavior.
Ejikeme, in her deception, had requested her UTME result from the Board’s platform, manipulated it, and then pasted it on a 2022 UTME result sheet, falsely assuming that the design remained unchanged for the 2023 UTME.
