Mmesoma vindicated as JAMB faces new system glitch allegations in 2025

DDM News

In what many Nigerians are now calling a heartbreaking and unjust episode, 19-year-old Mmesoma Ejikeme appears to have finally been vindicated.

Diaspora Digital Media (DDM), a UK-based Nigerian media group, has tracked the developments closely, amplifying growing calls for justice and transparency in the education sector.

Mmesoma had been at the center of a nationwide scandal in 2023, after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) accused her of forging her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result.

She was then a student of Anglican Girls Secondary School, Nnewi, Anambra State.

The school was one of the missionary institutions returned to their original owners by former Governor Peter Obi in 2009.

In May 2023, shortly after JAMB released the UTME results, Mmesoma went viral on social media for scoring 362 out of 400.

Her score placed her as the highest-scoring candidate in the country.

Innoson Motors, impressed by the result, awarded her a ₦3 million scholarship after verifying her result on JAMB’s website.

All seemed to be going well until JAMB saw the viral reports and launched an investigation.

They contacted the Department of State Services (DSS), who reportedly examined the situation.

JAMB later declared her score of 362 fake, claiming she had manipulated their system to inflate her result from 249 to 362.

According to JAMB, Mmesoma used illegal means to generate a false result slip.

However, the result she presented contained subject scores of 98% in English, 89% in Physics, 94% in Biology, and 81% in Chemistry.

She maintained that she printed the result directly from the JAMB website, and also received matching details via the official SMS checker.

Innoson Motors also confirmed they had verified the result before offering the scholarship.

In a viral video response, Mmesoma denied manipulating any result, stating she lacked the technical skills or resources to hack into JAMB’s system.

She pointed instead to possible errors in JAMB’s system, as many students had experienced glitches in both 2023 and the ongoing 2025 examination cycle.

She also revealed that the QR code on her result initially led to a different candidate, Omotola Afolabi, with a score of 138.

Later checks showed that same QR code now showed Omotola’s score as 338, further suggesting possible system errors.

Rather than investigate potential flaws in their system, JAMB doubled down.

They insisted she was lying and being coached by others to manipulate public opinion.

JAMB further claimed her date of birth on the result was falsified, stating her real date was March 2, 2004, while her result showed April 2, 2004.

They accused her of operating with a group who altered both her result and personal details, though no such group was ever named.

On July 4, 2023, JAMB banned Mmesoma from writing its exams for three years.

The agency said her claims of system glitches were baseless and aimed at gaining public sympathy.

Her father, visibly heartbroken, said the video where she admitted to faking her result didn’t sound like his daughter.

He alleged that she had been pressured into making the statements and declared that JAMB was hiding the truth.

Despite this, Innoson Motors withdrew their scholarship.

The Anambra State Government sponsored Mmesoma for three months of psychotherapy following the incident.

Later, businessman Gaius Chibueze offered to fund her education up to a Master’s degree in any school of her choice in the UK, US, or Canada.

Meanwhile, Nkechinyere Umeh, who scored 360, received the scholarship Innoson had initially awarded to Mmesoma.

In 2025, the situation took a new turn.

A new glitch in the JAMB system was discovered, affecting students from all five South-East states, as well as Lagos and Oyo.

Education activist Alex Onyia persistently raised the alarm until JAMB acknowledged it was caused by human error.

Many Nigerians now say Mmesoma Ejikeme has been vindicated.

Public opinion is shifting, with growing calls for JAMB to issue a formal apology.

Despite the storm she endured, Mmesoma’s case has reignited conversations about systemic failure, marginalization, and the need for transparency in Nigeria’s education sector.

Notably, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede remains the JAMB Registrar as of 2025, the same person who presided over the controversial 2023 debacle.

Nigerians online have described it as another example of injustice against the South-East.

With each passing day, the calls grow louder for JAMB to acknowledge its failings and do right by the young girl it publicly shamed.

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