The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have arrested an officer of the Nigeria Police Force for examination malpractice.
Mr Etim Israel was nabbed for engaging an impostor to write his 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Israel, a Police Constable in the Akwa Ibom State Command reportedly registered for the exam with his name but employed a mercenary’s to sit for the exam.
The mercenary reportedly used his original picture and other biometric details for the fraudulent endeavour.
The Policeman confessed to having applied to study Fishery at the Akwa Ibom State University in the 2020 UTME, but paid N30, 000 to of the mercenary who is now on the run to sit for the exam as he was away on special duties.
Israel said after scoring over 240 in the exam and decided to commence the admissions process, he was told that he won’t sail through because of the disparity in the picture, which prompted him to visit JAMB’s office for correction, a move that landed him in trouble.
“I went to their (JAMB) office to change my picture when they told me (in Akwa Ibom) that I won’t be able to use the result because of the picture,” Israel said.
The Police Constable in an emotion-laden voice appealed to JAMB to temper justice with mercy, promising to help the Board in investigating issues of impersonation in UTME.
Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who said Israel will be prosecuted in accordance with the law, expressed concern over the antics of some candidates who circumvent watertight measures used in checking impersonation.
He said: “When some candidates complain that they have registered for our examination but could not be verified on the day of examination, many do not grasp the full import of their claims as such candidates, who are more often than not impersonators, expect to be allowed to enter the examination hall without undergoing necessary searches.
“However, in the last UTME, the Board introduced the taking of a snapshot of the candidate who claims they could not be verified and comparing the new picture with the one in our database.
The JAMB Registrar, however, assured candidates who had genuine verification challenges during the 2020 UTME, that the Board would fix a new date for them to write the exam.
