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The controversy surrounding the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result being paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma seemed to have reached a conclusive end as the candidate confessed to faking her result.
According to a fact-finding committee set up by the Anambra State government, the candidate manipulated her result by herself, using her phone.
Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra state, gained popularity in May after claiming to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME.
She was widely celebrated at the time, especially on social media, as the overall best candidate, despite no confirmation from the exam organiser, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), to that effect.
Her purported academic feat won her great commendations, which prompted Innocent Chukwuma, the owner of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, to award Mmesoma a scholarship worth ₦3 million.
JAMB declared Mmesoma's result fake
However, an interesting twist occurred when JAMB confirmed Kamsiyochukwu Umeh Precious, with a total score of 360, as the official overall best candidate for 2023.
The exam body would later declare that Mmesoma scored 249, adding that her claim of 362 was a deceitful plot to mislead the public.
But, the student doubled down on her claim and even presented a score sheet, purportedly generated from JAMB's result viewing portal, to strengthen her argument.
Even though the exam body released a plethora of compelling evidence to counter her claim, opinions were still divided on the matter as prominent Nigerians asked for further probe, leading to the setting up of the panel of inquiry by the state government.
Panel says Mmesoma forged UTME result
In its final report, the panel concluded that Mmesoma indeed manipulated her result.
Consequent upon this, the panel recommended that she tenders a written apology to JAMB, the Anglican Girls Secondary, and the Anambra state government.
The panel’s report reads, “The results paraded by Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma with an aggregate score of 362 are fake as buttressed by significant variations in the registration number, date of birth, centre name, and other infractions.
“Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results herself, using herself using her phone.
“The Principal Anglican Girls’ Secondary School, Mrs. Edu Uche, and the education secretary, Diocese of Nnewi (Anglican Communion) expressed dismay at the conduct of Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma.
“Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma should undergo psychological counselling and therapy.
“We hope that this unearthing of the truth as we have discovered will go a long way in correcting the sentiments, misconceptions, and deceptions that have been in the public domain.”