JAMB:Lawyer demands apology for Anambra student, Mmesoma

A lawyer, Johnmary Maduakolam, has threatened to sue the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, if he doesn’t apologise to an Anambra pupil, Mmesoma Ejikeme. 

He demanded that the management of the Board should tender an apology to the pupil who was accused by JAMB of manually inflating her 2023 UTME result.

The lawyer in a letter addressed to Oloyede which noted that Mmesoma was incapable of forging her results. He also accused JAMB of failing to protect the identity of the girl.

He said, “I am Chief Johnmary Akachukwu Maduakolam, a legal practitioner and the President of Johnmary Akachukwu Maduakolam Initiative for Education which is a pet project with a special interest in education and holistic development of the young person.

“I am shocked to read from the media a circular issued by one Mr. Fabian Benjamin on behalf of JAMB, accusing one Ms. Mmesoma Ejikeme, a minor and a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School Nnewi, Anambra State of faking JAMB scores to curry favor from unsuspecting philanthropists. By that publication, JAMB, under your watch, defamed the poor girl, exposed her to public opprobrium, and most especially failed to discharge its duty to the girl child under the Child’s Right Act.”

JAMB in a statement on Sunday evening noted that Ejikeme manually inflated her UTME  result from 249 to 362 and used her manually increased score to attract a N3m scholarship from Innoson Motors and was set to be awarded by the Anambra state government before she was exposed. 

“The most pathetic of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was awarded an N3m scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma. She was even set to be honored by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials put a call through to JAMB to confirm her claim only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had scored 249 and not 362 she claimed. She had manipulated her UTME result to deceive the public to fraudulently obtain a scholarship and other recognition,” JAMB said.

Maduakolam in the letter said, “Paradoxically, information available in the media strongly suggests that JAMB, and not the poor girl, is culpable of dishing out fake results but even if the girl forged her results, the law affords her some protection as a child in the circumstance.

“Sequel to the above, I hereby request your good self, on her behalf, to retract forthwith the malicious publication made against the child, tender an unreserved apology to her and take steps to ensure that the trauma your conduct caused is cushioned immediately.

“Kindly note if you fail, neglect, or refuse to harken to my demands for the welfare of the child, I shall drag you to a court and you shall bear its cost.”

JAMB said they would not recognize her examination slip and would be banned from the examination for three years.