The 19-year-old candidate of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, Miss Ejikeme Mmesoma, has apologised to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and its Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede.

Mmesoma appeared before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc committee for allegedly manipulating her UTME result.

On Wednesday in Abuja, she publicly admitted her involvement and tendered a written apology before the committee.

The 19-year old noted that ignorance played a significant role in her action and she only got to know the full implication of her actions after she had manipulated her result.

She added that “it is not in her character to indulge in such misbehaviour and that this was her first time, even as she pleaded with JAMB to tamper justice with mercy.”

Earlier, JAMB Registrar, Oloyede, noted that it is practically impossible to fake JAMB’s results because they are stored offline and not in “cloud.”

The JAMB boss assured the committee that the board’s Central Admission Processing System is “full proof” and no human interference has been recorded since 2017 when it was installed, adding that the board has made tremendous progress in the area of its CAPS.

He also noted that JAMB conducts a ranking or non-referencing examination and not a criterion examination.

He called on the House of Representatives to employ the services of an education expert to always advise it on educational matters as some of the decisions of the House have not reflected their expertise on educational matters.

According to him, there are no loopholes or vulnerabilities identified in the JAMB process.

“To prevent such in the future, there is need for members of the public to be careful in making unfounded statements and for them to have confidence in public institutions.

“The public should commend JAMB for its process and procedure,” he said.

The committee, chaired by Rt. Hon. Sada Soli, APC Katsina State, had agreed not to subject Mmesoma to public testimony but reversed its decision upon, discovering that she was 19.

While commending the young lady, her father and lawyers for showing up at the hearing, the committee, however, advised her to stay off bad influence and learn from her mistakes.

Recall that the House of Representatives had on July 5, 2023, set up an ad-hoc committee to probe allegations of manipulation of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, result by Mmesoma.

The lawmakers also urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to stay any punitive action Mmesoma.

The decision followed the unanimous adoption of a motion by a member representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro constituency, Awaji-Inombek Abiante.

Mmesomaa, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi in Anambra State, had claimed she scored 362 marks as against the 249 marks her JAMB records of 2023 UTME showed.

However, the 19-year-old reportedly confessed her involvement in the alleged manipulation of her UTME result, following an interface with a committee set up by the Anambra State Government to investigate the incident.

The committee, in its submission, found her guilty of forging her JAMB result, using her phone.

“In Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma’s submission, she owned up in the presence of her principal, and the Education Secretary that the narration by the JAMB officials was a true and correct description of what transpired.

“She also admitted to have given a manipulated result by herself unaided, using same phone Airtel Number. According to her, she proceeded to the cybercafe (Prisca Global Computers, Uruagu, Nnewi) where she printed the results she had manipulated,” the committee said.