Miss Mmesoma Ejikeme has again tendered an unreserved apology for altering her 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) aggregate score from 249 to 362.
Ejikeme, who appeared before the Sada Soli-led ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives probing the matter, admitted she acted in ignorance.
Promising to make amends, she pleaded with authorities to temper justice with mercy regarding the punishment slammed on her by JAMB.
“I have already admitted what I did was wrong. Based on that, I present to you my letter of apology to the JAMB Registrar. I humbly seek forgiveness for the mistakes I have made,” she pleaded, as lawmakers listened with rapt attention.
Mmesoma, who was accompanied by her parents and counsel, subsequently presented her letter of apology to the lawmakers.
Abubakar Fulata, who chaired the Rules and Business committee in the 9th Assembly, counseled Mmesoma to learn from her mistake by turning a new leaf in future endeavours.
Fulata recalled his days as a lecturer in one of the nation’s higher institutions of learning and wondered why Mmesoma indulged in the act, considering the fact that she had 246, widely adjudged as a good score.
The Jigawa-born lawmaker drew the attention of Mmesoma to the late legal icon, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who left footprints in the legal profession, in spite of the fact that he neither made a First Class, Second Class Upper or Lower degree in the university.
JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyode, justified the decision to impose a three-year ban on Mmesoma, saying it was based on unassailable evidence that she forged her UTME result, in connivance with an exam malpractices syndicate.
The JAMB chief, who accused a reputable media outfit of preparing ground for Mmesoma to commit the act, presented a 19-evidence list to corroborate his stance that the result paraded by Mmesoma was forged.
He said JAMB was beaming its searchlight on eight accomplices, adding that Mmesoma altered the result using QR and bar codes of one Asimiyu Mariam Omobolade from Osun State, whose UTME score in 2021 was 138.
