DATELINE: How the Mmesoma Ejikeme UTME drama unfolded

For most students, pursuing academic excellence is an enticing endeavour, and for others, a lofty aspiration. Sacrifices and hard work are required to make such dreams come true. But achieving excellence can sometimes be daunting, with the temptation to embrace compromises or take shortcuts constantly lurking.

Over the past few weeks, Ejikeme Mmesoma, a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi, Anambra, has been entangled in a web of deceit revolving around a claim that she scored 362 in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Here is a timeline of events surrounding the controversy.

JUNE 27: THE BEGINNING OF THE JAMB SAGA

This year’s UTME started on April 25 and ended on May 3. Later in May, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released the exam results. A total of 1,595,779 candidates had registered to take the examination in 708 CBT centres across 105 examination towns in the country. Of the over one million candidates, Nkechinyere Umeh had the highest score of 360. On June 27, the Anambra state government offered a scholarship to the student to study any course of her choice at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, saying the administration of Chukwuma Soludo, the governor, is prioritising education in the state.

MAY 8: INNOSON MOTORS REWARDS MMESOMA FOR ‘SURPASSING’ UMEH’S SCORE

On May 8, Innoson Vehicles, a Nigerian automobile company founded by Innocent Chukwuma, announced that it awarded a N3 million scholarship to Mmesoma for being “the overall best-performing candidate” in the 2023 UTME. Mmesoma was said to have scored 98%, 89%, 94%, and 81% in English Language, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry, respectively. 

JULY 2: JAMB DISOWNS MMESOMA’S RESULT

Diswoning Mmesoma’s result, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB spokesperson, said the student manipulated her result so she could deceive the public to fraudulently obtain scholarships and other recognitions. JAMB said Mmesoma actually got 249 in the exam, and that the pupil and others caught manipulating their results would be prosecuted in due course.

JULY 3: ANAMBRA PROBES ALLEGED RESULT MANIPULATION

On July 3, Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, Anambra state commissioner for education, announced that the state government had set up an independent panel of inquiry to investigate the “embarrassing” allegations that Mmesoma manipulated her UTME result.

JULY 3: MMESOMA ‘TRAUMATISED’ BY RESULT CONTROVERSY

In a video that quickly went viral, Mmesoma said the allegations around the authenticity of her UTME result left her “traumatised”, adding that she was not capable of forging her result. She said she printed the result from the JAMB portal and that the problem was from the examination body. She alleged that other students had suffered glitches while confirming their results and that JAMB had invited the Department of State Services (DSS) to question her instead of rectifying the issue.

JULY 3: INNOSON VEHICLES CALLS FOR PROBE

Reacting to the drama, Cornel Osigwe, Innoson Vehicle’s head of corporate communications, said Mmesoma was not capable of manipulating her result, adding that “there is more” to JAMB’s claim. Osigwe called for an independent investigation into the result’s authenticity and said the scholarship offered to the student would be withdrawn if she was found guilty.

JULY 3: MMESOMA’S FATHER SAYS DAUGHTER BEING INTIMIDATED

Romanus Ejikeme, Mmesoma’s father, countered claims that his daughter manipulated her UTME result. Romanus said JAMB gave his daughter’s “result to another person and they are still intimidating her”. He described the allegation as unfair, adding that his daughter did not use any software to manipulate her score.

JULY 4: WE’VE INVOLVED DSS, SAYS JAMB

A few hours after Mmesoma’s outcry, many Nigerians took to social media to fault JAMB for involving security agencies in a matter that involves a minor. Clarifying the move in an interview with TheCable Lifestyle, the JAMB spokesperson said it was necessary to involve the DSS because there were people behind the forgery, adding that the security operatives would unearth the instigators.

JULY 4: JAMB BARS MMESOMA FOR THREE YEARS

On July 4, Benjamin announced that the UTME result of the Anambra student had been withdrawn and JAMB had barred her from sitting for the exam for three years due to the “weighty infractions”. JAMB also dismissed her claims of a glitch with the portal, adding that it was a tactic to dissuade the public from taking sides with the exam body.

JULY 4: JAMB GOES PUBLIC WITH MMESOMA’S RESULT 

In an interview with Channels TV, the JAMB spokesperson shared the student’s result to support the board’s stance on the matter. A comparison between the JAMB result and the forged result showed an inconsistency in the student’s month of birth. While the allegedly forged result showed Mmesoma was born on March 2, 2004, the version released by JAMB revealed she was born on April 2, 2004. JAMB also said the slip presented by the student was no longer in use.

JULY 4: MORE SCHOLARSHIPS ROLL IN FOR MMESOMA AMID CONTROVERSY

The controversy surrounding Mmesoma’s result forgery elicited different reactions from different people. While some Nigerians including Charly Boy, the singer and actor, called for an external investigation into the matter, others rewarded the student for her academic feat and criticised JAMB. Gaius Chibueze, an entrepreneur, offered to sponsor the student to any school of her choice in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Chibueze said his company would fund Mmesoma’s education up to the master’s level while he asked JAMB to stop attacking the Igbo race.

JULY 5: JAMB, MMESOMA’S FATHER TRADE WORDS

Addressing Mmesoma’s viral video, the JAMB spokesperson said the student was being coached. Benjamin said “there are people behind” her actions, and that a critical look at the video would show viewers that someone was egging her on and telling her what to do. 

“If you look at her posture – look at the video very well. If you look at the video critically, you will see that somebody is coaching her on what to say. Just sit down and look at the video she posted yesterday,” he said.

However, the student’s father insisted that his daughter’s result was authentic and that his family would not sue JAMB despite the intimidation and false allegations against his daughter. He said his family has “left everything to God to judge”.

JULY 5: MMESOMA FINALLY ADMITS TO 249 SCORE

As the controversy raged on, Mmesoma admitted to receiving a message from JAMB indicating she scored 249 in the UTME. She said she sent a message to the exam body’s support system to know where the “error” came from but added that the UTME ban was unfair.

JULY 8: PANEL SPEAKS ON FORGED RESULT ADMISSION

The Anambra committee tasked with investigating the controversy confirmed that the student admitted to faking her 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 panel said the student faked the result through her phone and added that she requires psychological counselling and therapy.

…AND INNOSON WITHDRAWS HER SCHOLARSHIP

Innoson Vehicles announced the withdrawal of the scholarship awarded to Mmesoma in response to the findings of the Anambra committee of inquiry.

The company said it made the “difficult decision” to withdraw the scholarship — but that it remains steadfast in its mission to “support deserving students” and invest in the country’s education sector.