Mmesoma’s three-year JAMB ban expires July after 2023 forgery scandal
Three years after one of Nigeria’s most controversial examination scandals, the three-year ban imposed on Anambra student Ejikeme Mmesoma, by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board is due to expire this July, making her eligible once again to sit the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
Mmesoma became the centre of national attention in July 2023 after she claimed to have scored 362 in the UTME, a result that would have ranked her among the country’s highest-performing candidates.
The claim initially drew public sympathy after she accused JAMB of failing to recognise her achievement. However, the controversy quickly escalated after the examination body declared the result she presented fake.
JAMB insisted that Mmesoma’s authentic score was 249 and alleged that she manipulated her result using her mobile phone before printing a forged copy at a cybercafé.
The board pointed to several discrepancies, including differences in her registration number, date of birth, examination centre and the format of the result slip, noting that the notification template she used had been discontinued since 2021.
While Mmesoma initially maintained that she printed the result directly from JAMB’s portal and denied any wrongdoing, the Anambra State Government constituted an independent panel of inquiry to investigate the dispute.
The panel, chaired by Prof. Nkemdili Nnonyelu, interviewed JAMB officials, Mmesoma, her school authorities and other relevant parties before submitting its findings.
In its report released on July 8, 2023, the panel confirmed that Mmesoma’s actual UTME score was 249 and that the 362 score she presented was manipulated.
According to the panel, Mmesoma admitted during the proceedings that she personally altered the result using her Airtel mobile phone before taking it to a cybercafé for printing.
The report stated that she acted alone and apologised to JAMB, the Anambra State Government and her school over the incident.
Following the findings, JAMB withdrew the forged result and announced a three-year ban preventing her from participating in any of its examinations.
The board said the sanction was in line with its established procedures for examination malpractice and result falsification.
