The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board's three-year ban on Anambra student Ejikeme Mmesoma, which was issued following one of Nigeria's most contentious examination scandals, is set to expire in July, allowing her to retake the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. In July 2023, Mmesoma gained national prominence after claiming to have received a score of 362 on the UTME, which would have placed her among the top candidates in the nation.
She claimed that JAMB had failed to acknowledge her accomplishment, which at first sparked widespread sympathy. However, as the testing authority ruled the result she presented to be fraudulent, the dispute swiftly intensified. JAMB maintained that Mmesoma's true score was 249 and claimed that she used her phone to modify her score before printing a fake copy at a cybercafé.
The board noted that the notification pattern she used had been discontinued since 2021 and pointed out several inconsistencies, including variations in her registration number, date of birth, examination location, and result slip type.
The Anambra State Government established an independent commission of inquiry to look into the matter, notwithstanding Mmesoma's initial claims that she printed the results straight from JAMB's portal and denied any misconduct.
Before submitting its conclusions, the panel, which was presided over by Prof. Nkemdili Nnonyelu, conducted interviews with Mmesoma, her school administrators, JAMB officials, and other pertinent parties.