Nineteen-year-old Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who is enmeshed in examination score forgery scandal, has finally confessed to a panel of independent investigators set up by the Anambra State Government that she fraudulently scored herself higher in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result.
The eight-member panel set up by the governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo to investigate the controversies surrounding the results claimed by Mmesoma, stated this in report it submitted to the government.
Headed by Prof Nkemdili Nnonyelu, the committee confirmed Mmesoma forged the score of 362 as earlier claimed by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
The report said Mmesoma admitted to have manipulated her UTME results, deceiving the school, her immediate family and the state government,
She also confessed that she forged the result unaided before approaching a cyber cafe for printing.
“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,” the report stated.
The report added: “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.
The committee recommended that Mmesoma should tender an “unreserved written apology to JAMB, the School (Anglican Girls Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi) and the Anambra State Government” adding that “this should be done immediately.
“Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo a psychological counselling and therapy.
“All prospective candidates for JAMB Admission should adhere strictly to guidelines, processes and procedures of the examination body,” the committee added.
Recall that Mmesoma had declared herself as the highest scorer in the 2023 UTME with 362 points against 249 which JAMB recorded as her score in the examination.
She had insisted in a viral video that she saw a 362 score on the JAMB portal when she checked her result, but JAMB countered saying the score was manipulated.
“I went to the JAMB portal. There, I tried to get my result, then they directed me to another site. There, I put in my registration number, and the result came out. I didn’t go to any computer centre. It’s the result they gave me that I downloaded,” she said.
She said she saw 362 when she checked her result using the USSD code provided by JAMB.
“The one I checked on the USSD code is the 362 that I saw,” she said.
However, JAMB said it stopped using the format of the copy of the result notification slip the candidate displayed in a viral video since 2021.
It said out of the more than 1.6 million candidates who wrote the examination in 2023, only Mmesoma has such a copy of the result.
The examination body also announced the withdrawal of Mmesoma’s authentic 2023 UTME result, where she scored 249 and banned her for three years from taking part in its examination.
