Mmesoma admitted to manipulating UTME result, says Anambra panel

An Anambra committee tasked with investigating the controversy surrounding Joy Mmesoma says the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate admitted to faking her results.

In May, Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra state, gained popularity after she was purported to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME.

Although the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) did not announce her as the overall best candidate, Mmesoma was widely celebrated.

Innocent Chukwuma, the automobile businessman, awarded the candidate a scholarship worth N3 million.

JAMB would later declare, contrary to Mmesoma’s claims, that the student scored 249, not 362.

The exam body said she faked the results to mislead the public, so a panel was tasked with probing the matter.

A report on the Anambra-constituted panel’s investigation has now concluded that Mmesoma indeed faked the results.

The panel of inquiry said Mmesoma is expected to tender a written apology to JAMB, the Anglican Girls Secondary, and the Anambra state government.

“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,” the panel’s report reads.

“Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma admitted that she manipulated the fake results 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.”