An Anambra State student, Mmesoma Ejikeme, who falsified her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result, appeared before an ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mmesoma, a teenager, had previously confessed to altering her original score of 249 to 362, falsely presenting herself as the top scorer in the 2023 UTME. During the proceedings, she expressed remorse and tendered an apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for her misconduct.
Prior to her admission of forgery, Mmesoma engaged in a back-and-forth with JAMB, where accusations and counter-accusations were exchanged, leading to the exam body imposing a three-year ban on her.
As the debate surrounding the sanction escalated, the House of Representatives intervened and called for a temporary halt to the imposed penalty.
However, during the investigation conducted by the Commission of Inquiry established by the Anambra State Government to probe the matter, Mmesoma ultimately confessed to forging her result.
On the aforementioned Wednesday, she appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee, specifically convened to examine the case.
In attendance were the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, along with other high-ranking officials from the examination body.
During the hearing, Mmesoma appealed for leniency, urging JAMB to reconsider the three-year ban.
“I acknowledge that what I did was wrong. In light of this, I hereby present my formal letter of apology. I sincerely seek forgiveness for the mistakes I have made and the pain I have caused.
“I deeply regret that my JAMB result was obtained from a non-official portal, due to my ignorance of the proper process.
“I take full responsibility for my actions and sincerely apologize for any blame and distress I have caused,” she expressed remorsefully.
Mmesoma emphasized that her ignorance played a significant role in her decision to acquire the fake result.
However, in his testimony, the JAMB Registrar maintained that Mmesoma deliberately conspired with others to manipulate her result.
He further revealed that JAMB had taken action against more than eight UTME centers found to be involved in results manipulation, leading to their closure.
