South East Fact Check has condemned the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, for recently revealing that one Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme from Anambra State falsified her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, results.
While the candidate, a student at Anglican School in Nnewi, has a 362 score, JAMB has declared her result false and fabricated, claiming she only received a 249.
According to Fabian Benjamin, the Head of Public Affairs and Protocol at the education body, Mmesoma forged results on the JAMB site to manipulate the results she is currently displaying, and the teenager used the alleged fake results to secure a scholarship worth 3 million naira from Innoson Motors.
In a reaction in Umuahia, the Chairman of South East Fact Check, Mr Barry Odinkemmere, called the JAMB statement an “ambush,” stating that the young girl was not allowed a fair hearing before JAMB released its report.
South East Fact Check further expressed concern at the tone applied in the statement, saying that it sounded like a premeditated plan against the candidate.
The group noted that a thorough investigation should have been concluded on the matter to determine who is saying the truth, as according to the group, JAMB by its statement, had already admitted that something is wrong with its result portal.
“How can you arrive at this conclusion without a final, thorough and independent investigation?
“This girl, from our findings, has maintained first position from her primary school days.
“If there is a problem of credibility on the JAMB results portal, who should take the blame- is it not JAMB?
“Why will they crucify a poor brilliant girl on the altar of wickedness”, Odinkemmere said.
He advised JAMB to allow a forensic investigation to be concluded before jumping to the media.
“If at the end of the day, the result is confirmed to be forged by the girl, then she should be prosecuted.
“But if it is discovered at the end of the day that she is the true owner, JAMB should pay her compensation with apologies and we will go to Court against them to enforce the rights of the poor girl,” the SEFC leader further said.
The group vowed to mobilize a free legal team for Mmesoma if the need arises.
The group commended Mr Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Motors for standing with the UTME candidate, until the conclusion of independent investigations.
The South East Fact Check challenged “the Ohaneze Ndigbo led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu to wade into this matter immediately, to avoid persecution of our Ada Igbo.”