Members of House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Allegations of Manipulation has asked the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to halt punitive action against Mmesomma Ejikeme, accused of manipulation of her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result.

The appeal was made when Mmesoma, her father, lawyer, and officials of JAMB appeared before members of the ad-hoc committee investigating the alleged manipulation after the lawmakers had considered several things, in addition to the apology that was publicly tendered to JAMB and its Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, by Mmesomma.

Mmesoma told the lawmakers at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, that ignorance played a significant role in her action and she only got to know the full implication after she had manipulated her result.

She added that it was not in her character to indulge in such misbehaviour, and that it was her first time, even as she pleaded with JAMB to tamper justice with mercy.

She apologised to JAMB over the forgery of her UTME result and pleaded that the ban imposed on her be lifted.

Earlier, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Oloyede, noted that it was practically impossible to fake results because they were stored offline and not in “cloud.”

The JAMB boss assured the lawmakers that the Board’s Central Admission Processing (CAPS) System is “full proof” and no human interference has been recorded since 2017 when it was installed, adding that the board has made tremendous progress in the area of its CAPS.

He also noted that JAMB conducts a ranking or non-referencing examination and not a criterion examination and urged the lawmakers to employ the services of an education expert to always advise it on educational matters as some of the decisions of the House have not reflected their expertise on educational matters.

He added: “There are no loopholes or vulnerabilities identified in the JAMB process. To prevent such in the future, there is need for members of the public to be careful in making unfounded statements, and for them to have confidence in public institutions. JAMB should be commended for its process and procedure.”

The committee chaired by Sada Soli had agreed not to subject Mmesomma to public testimony but reversed his decision upon discovering that she was 19 years old.

While commending the young lady, her father and lawyers for showing up at the hearing, the Committee, however, advised her to stay off bad influence and learn from her mistakes.