JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede
Lawyer tells JAMB to apologise or face legal action. A lawyer, Johnmary Maduakolam, has threatened to sue the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and the Board’s management if they do not apologize to Anambra student, Mmesoma Ejikeme, who was accused by JAMB of manually inflating her 2023 UTME result.
In a letter addressed to Oloyede and seen by our correspondent, the lawyer stated that Mmesoma was incapable of fabricating her own results. He also accused JAMB of failing to protect the girl’s identity.
“I am Chief Johnmary Akachukwu Maduakolam, a legal practitioner and the President of the Johnmary Akachukwu Maduakolam Initiative for Education, a pet project with a special interest in education and holistic development of the young,” he explained.
I was astounded to read in 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 fabricating JAMB scores in order to court favor with naïve philanthropists. Under your supervision, JAMB defamed the unfortunate girl, exposed her to public opprobrium, and, most importantly, failed to execute its duty to the female child under the Child’s Right Act.”
According to the PUNCH, JAMB stated in a statement on Sunday evening that Ejikeme artificially inflated her UTME score from 249 to 362 and used her manually boosted score to lure a N3m scholarship from Innoson Motors, which was set to be awarded by the Anambra state government until she was caught.
“The most pitiful of them all is the case of Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma, who claimed to have scored 362 in the 2023 UTME and was given a N3 million scholarship by Chief (Dr.) Innocent Chukwuma.” She was even poised to be honored by the Anambra State Government when one of its top officials contacted JAMB to validate her claim, only for the Board to reveal that Miss Ejikeme Joy Mmesoma had scored 249 rather than the 362 she claimed. “She manipulated her UTME results in order to deceive the public and fraudulently obtain a scholarship and other recognitions,” JAMB stated.
“Paradoxically, information available in the media strongly suggests that JAMB, rather than 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,” Maduakolam wrote in the letter.
“In light of the foregoing, I hereby request that your good self, on her behalf, retract the malicious publication made against the child, tender an unqualified apology to her, and take immediate steps to ensure that the trauma your conduct caused is cushioned.”
“Please take note that if you fail, neglect, or refuse to heed my demands for the welfare of the child, I will drag you to court and you will bear the cost.”