The Anambra State Government-appointed panel of investigation has determined that Mmesoma Ejikeme fabricated her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination score, reporting that she received 249 instead of 362.
Mmesoma should seek psychological counseling and therapy, according to the panel’s eight-page report, which also recommended that she immediately tender an unequivocal written apology to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, the school (Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Uruagu Nnewi), and the state government.
The eight-member panel was appointed by the state governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, on Wednesday to look into the current dispute between Mmesoma’s UTME result and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The team’s conclusions would be made public.
Mmesoma, a student at Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, was scrutinized for presenting the “highest score” of 362, which JAMB later showed was altered, during the UTME in May.
The panel’s report, which is also making the rounds online, was provided on Friday by the commissioner for information, Sir Paul Nwosu, and was sent to the governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo.
The panel claimed that it conducted interviews with the necessary parties, including Mmesoma, JAMB representatives, other participants in the process, and the head of the Anglican Girls Secondary School.
The panel claimed that Mmesoma had contacted JAMB using a different registration number, requesting a UTME result with an aggregate score of 362, with Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. This was a significant departure from the usual JAMB format, in which she received a proper rebuttal stating that her actual score was 249.
“The results released by the JAMB with respect to the UTME score of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma is 249,” the tribunal stated in its conclusions.
“As supported by the very large and instructional differences in the registration number, date of birth, center name, and other transgressions, the result presented by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 362 is phony.
“Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma acknowledged that she used her phone to modify the phony findings.
“The Education Secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion), and the Principal, Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Mrs. Edu Uche, expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.”
The candidate was well aware of her correct result of 249. This was also stated in the report, “Report of the committee on Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB score controversy.”
Recall Mr. Governor that after the JAMB recently released the results of candidates who applied for admission and announced Nkechiyere Umeh as the candidate with the highest score of 360, Enugu State student Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, 19, protested to the state government that she scored 362 and should have been recognized as such.
The state government, in its wisdom, decided to form a committee of inquiry to look into the under-listed terms of reference and to review Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s JAMB results and related documents because this has sparked interest and serious controversy among the general public.
Interview all pertinent parties, including Mmesoma, JAMB representatives, and any other participants in the process. On the basis of the investigation’s results, make recommendations.
“The committee requested an interactive session with the JAMB authorities and Mmesoma, the principal of the Anglican Girls’ Secondary School.
“JAMB officials, led by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Head of Public Affairs, detailed the processes and procedures involved in JAMB admissions, the policy modifications that have taken place in the release of UTME results since 2021, and what specifically happened between candidate Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma (registration number: 20230639047FF) in her attempt to obtain her JAMB score.
“JAMB revealed the various occasions when Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma requested her results from the JAMB portal at various hours, and each of these occasions (four in total), she received the same results in her phone from JAMB, indicating the candidate’s UTME Results to Wit: Eng: 64, Phy: 54, Bio: 74, and Che: 57 with a total aggregate score of 249.
“JAMB stated that the applicant was aware of her accurate score. Mmesoma had sent a request to JAMB with a separate registration number containing the following UTME results: Eng: 98, Phy: 89, Bio: 94, and Che: 81. The total score was 362. The numbers she supplied were significantly different from the usual JAMB format, where she received a proper reply saying her actual score was 249.
The panel further revealed that JAMB staff had also pointed up several additional red flags, including a different date of birth, a different registration number, and a notification of results template that had been abandoned as of 2021, among other things.
The candidate used the old name of the center (Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development) in her own manipulated result sheet, making it clear that even the examination center name, “Nkemefuna Foundation” (formerly Thomas Chidoka Centre for Human Development), was manipulated.
“In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s response, she admitted that the JAMB authorities’ account of what happened was factual and accurate in front of her principal and the education secretary.
She further acknowledged that she used the same Airtel phone number to deliver a manipulated answer on her own, without any help.
She allegedly went to the cybercafé (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) to print the results she had modified.
“The Committee sought to get Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma to explain why she did what she did, but she remained silent.
“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 panel applauded JAMB for their careful handling of the situation and the details provided regarding the candidate’s interface.
“We hope that exposing the truth as we have found it will significantly correct the opinions, misunderstandings, and lies that have previously circulated in society.
