Desperate admission seekers issued with fake results by Syndicate

Chief Reporter August 21, 2023

DEBORAH TOLU-KOLAWOLE was approached by a syndicate of the UTME and West African Senior School Certificate Examination result manipulators who extort desperate candidates for’result upgrade’ after she posed as a candidate in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Facebook.

According to The PUNCH, failing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination or the West African Senior School Certificate Examination in Nigeria can be the end of a student’s hopes of attending college.

This is because there is intense competition for places in prestigious postsecondary educational institutions, especially universities, where students can major in fields like medicine, law, engineering, and others.

According to reports, an 18-year-old student named Loveth took her own life after failing to score high enough on the 2018 UTME. Loveth reportedly committed suicide after receiving a score of 163. Although the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has not enforced cut-off marks on institutions for some time, the pressure to achieve high marks in order to meet the cut-offs for desirable majors like medicine and law has continued to stress out students, educators, and even their own parents.

On June 24, 2023, at its 2023 policy meeting, JAMB announced that 452,443 UTME candidates had expressed interest in the 78,578 available medical school spots. Due to the large number of applicants competing for a small number of available slots, the admissions process would be streamlined to prioritise the most qualified applicants.

A candidate must meet the requirements set forth by the university he intends to attend. These requirements may include, but are not limited to, a passing grade on the UTME (depending on the cut-off mark announced by the university), passing grades on the WASSCE, and passing the post-UTME.

Many students, educators, and even parents and guardians resort to dishonest practises on examination days in hopes of improving their chances of admission or being recognised. For the purpose of passing exams, some institutions and private individuals have been known to set up “special or miracle centres” where students are given the correct answers with little to no oversight from outside parties. In June 2023, the West African Examination Council made allegations that unnamed supervisors had made billions of naira through exam fraud.

According to reports, impersonators have been known to register as candidates for the UTME with the intention of taking the exams in the place of the original candidates.

In February 2023, 817 candidates had their UTME registrations cancelled due to impersonation, as noted by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

Although a new verification system has helped reduce the number of impersonators taking the UTME on behalf of others, the board is now facing a different dimension of the problem. The board outed one Ejikeme Mmesoma on July 2, 2023, for falsely claiming to have the highest score on the UTME that year. Ejikeme had claimed to have scored 362 on a bogus UTME. A result slip and a “text message” purportedly from JAMB corroborated her story. The Anambra State Government, however, decided to investigate her claims to the board, and she was eventually found out.

The forum also unmasked an individual named Atung Gerald who fabricated his UTME score of 380 for the year 2023. After Atung’s announcement, his relatives wrote to JAMB demanding national recognition; however, the JAMB website later revealed that Atung had neither registered for nor taken the 2023 UTME.

The board, however, has faced similar challenges before and will do so again. For the UTME in 2021, one John Ifenkpam, then 19 years old, raised his score from 278 to 328. While Ifenkpam’s “text message” provided supporting evidence, the JAMB portal would not allow him to change his score. He informed his father that JAMB tampered with his score after he saw his actual score on the portal. As a result, his father filed a N1 billion lawsuit against JAMB. Several inquiries led to the candidate’s admission that he had falsified his UTME score.

Adah Eche, also aged 19, was detained in 2019 for falsifying his UTME score. JAMB claims that Eche cheated on the 2019 UTME by working with an examination syndicate to raise his score from 153 to 290. According to Oloyede, the suspect was captured after the board received a visit from a delegation from the Public Complaints Commission in response to complaints filed by dissatisfied test-takers for the 2019 UTME.

“We chose three of the complainants at random to address their concerns, and he was the first one we chose; he wrote a letter of complaint to us while fully aware that he had fabricated his result. We simply had him come pick up his acceptance letter after we invited him to do so.

Now, what these people don’t know is that we have a barcode for every result that helps us verify its authenticity, but this fake one has the barcode of a supermarket and was saying invalid barcode on our platform. We checked our platform and saw where he checked his result via 55019 three times in a row and was replied the same with his original result, which is 153, but he still claims he did not realise the one with 290 was fake.

Oloyede continued by saying that the suspect admitted to the crime after evidence was found on his phone and computer, where he had fabricated a 200-point score before increasing it to 290. After JAMB’s revelations about Ejikeme and Atung, our correspondent looked into how other UTME applicants fake their scores and provide fake printouts and “JAMB text messages” to back up their claims.

Our correspondent discovered that many of the “UTME and WASSCE result upgraders” draw in customers via Facebook and other well-known social media sites. To find UTME result sellers, just type “JAMB upgrade” into the Facebook search bar. According to our correspondent, some of these ‘upgraders’ shared testimonies of upgraded results and WhatsApp contacts where they could be reached without using their real names on Facebook.

In order to learn more about the syndicates, their procedures for upgrading results, and the costs associated with doing so, our correspondent started keeping tabs on them. The correspondent engaged in Facebook conversations with several members of the syndicate while posing as an applicant desperate to gain admission to the university with an upgraded JAMB result. She told them that her 2023 UTME score of 150 necessitated an increase to 249 before she could apply to medical school.

The correspondent pretended to be the mother of a UTME candidate in another conversation, telling the other person that her daughter had scored 160 and needed an upgrade to 300.

Three members of the syndicate were hired to improve UTME scores, and a fourth was hired to improve WASSCE scores. One of them, Blessing Oiza Samuel, went by the alias “Channels Television” on Facebook. Her real name was revealed when he provided the account number for payment.

On June 12 she announced on Facebook, “JAMB UPGRADE! Change the JAMB! Change the JAMB! Please add us on this number (08144978250) right now if you want to increase your Jamb score to 200, 230, 250, 270, 290, or 350. Here is my WhatsApp contact info. Currently, upgrades are still being implemented. In just one day, I can improve your JAMB score.

Our reporter called the specified WhatsApp number, posing as the candidate’s mother in order to get her son’s UTME score raised from 160 to 300, the minimum required for admission.

Our correspondent begged her for a discount, and she quickly responded, “To upgrade your score to 300 will cost you N20k, ma.” She then sent a voice note, which has been transcribed as follows: “Good morning madam. It will cost you N20,000 to raise your child’s JAMB score to 300. Due to the fact that this is not something we do in public, we must charge N20,000. We’re sneaking around to get it done for the kids. I can assist you for the low, low price of N15,000. I’ll have to see if I can get in touch with my coworkers.

She then requested that I forward the candidate’s name, registration number, exam location, and exam time.

When our correspondent voiced concern for the safety of her “daughter,” Samuel reassured her, “Don’t worry about that, nobody is exposing us.” She said, “I’m not going through the portal,” and then gave me her UBA account number, 2220739308.

In addition, our reporter contacted a certain Ihenyen Godstime. The reporter pretended to be a student who had scored 150 on the UTME but lied to his parents about it. Godstime demanded N10,000 for an upgrade after he discovered his Facebook contact details on WhatsApp.

Where have you been while everyone else has been levelling up??,” he enquired. To improve your JAMB score, I need you to send me your JAMB ID, full name, and JAMB centre. It will cost you N10,000 to have it upgraded this morning.

Godstime said, “I can’t reduce anything because it is already getting late.” when asked if he could charge less. He then forwarded his GTB account number 022259509, adding, “No discount this time; it would have been given if it had been sent earlier, before your exam.

Godstime assured customers who were suspicious that the upgrade might not be real that the updated result would be printed directly from the JAMB website. The JAMB website is where you can get a copy to print. He predicted that you would simply go to a cybercafé and print it out.

Our correspondent traced a series of Facebook posts about the scam dating back to 2012, revealing that the UTME score upgrade issue was not a recent phenomenon.

Over a thousand people have liked one of the “JAMB upgrade” accounts on Facebook. The company boasts on its bio, “We can upgrade your JAMB score with additional 100 marks.”

A second account, titled “JAMB upgrade centre,” with a total of 534 followers recommended that students improve their JAMB scores before the exam dates.

A message dated March 5, 2020, read, “JAMB CBT 2020: Upgrade your JAMB result to 250 and above before your exam date.” Get in touch with the JAMB office right away at 08105039492 if you’re keen. You can only improve your JAMB score up until the JAMB date. There are ”Terms and Conditions” to consider.

On the other hand, the account ‘JAMB upgrading 2020’ detailed the steps that would be necessary for students to manipulate their exam scores. ”Below are the complete details needed by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board 2020 for JAMB score upgrade,” read the post. Your JAMB registration number, seat number, centre number, state, registered subjects, and registered phone numbers will be collected before we process your payment. Contact information: 07046892418 or wa.me/2347046892418 on Whatsapp.

All of the above information is required to improve your 2020 JAMB ranking. Also, remember that the highest possible CBT score increase is 280 points. It takes up to 30 minutes for the changes to show up on the JAMB server after the work has been completed.

Candidates are encouraged to double-check their updated results and print out copies for future reference. It’s worth noting that this upgrade is being performed over a secure connection, and that no other site compares favourably to ours. According to JAMB’s national headquarters in (Abuja), the cost to upgrade your exam scores is N10,000.

Certain people whose speciality it was to alter WASSCE results were also uncovered through checks. A man from Ghana who went by the initials SS told me he could help me with an upgrade of my WAEC results in exchange for money. Because of the bank details he provided, it was eventually established that SS’s real name was Samuel Kwado Nkrumah. I trust that you have received full results information. Please provide me with more information by sending it to me. Give me your full name, your Index number, the name of your school, the academic year, and a complete list of your courses.

He assured our correspondent, “I can find the index number for you,” after she explained that she had forgotten it. I’m hoping we can resolve the cost issue soon. You’ll need N30,000 for the whole shebang. Send in the money now, and I’ll get to work on the output right away. MoneyGram or cash sent to “Samuel Kwadwo Nkrumah,” Ghana Accra; telephone +233551195870.

Methods of UTME and WAEC boosters

Our reporter found out that the fake results syndicate uses Photoshop to trick people. Under the condition of anonymity, a JAMB CBT centre owner revealed, “They use a computer tool called Adobe Photoshop to deceive people.” Students are duped by con artists who scan in a candidate’s original test score, then use Adobe to boost it to a higher number. The JAMB website, alas, will not benefit from the upgrade. Candidates must accept the fact that their scores cannot be improved. When you fail, you fail forever.

The results also revealed that a Google Play Store app could be used to fabricate JAMB scores. The ‘JambFun-Fake Jamb Result Maker’ features the JAMB logo, lending the fake results an air of veracity.

Student information, exam subjects, a score, and a barcode can all be entered into the app in lieu of a paper exam slip. On the app’s landing page, there’s a green button labelled “Fill out the form” that prompts users to take action.

After selecting the ‘Fill the form’ option, the app will take you to a new screen where you can enter your personal information. Once the user has entered their information into the biographical data fields, they must select the preview button. After that, the app would show a phoney JAMB result that looked exactly like the real thing.

But a WAEC official claimed that those dishonest with the results were only fooling themselves.

The official of the examination body responded to our correspondent’s questions by saying, “Well, I can tell you for free that these people are just deceiving themselves.” What they don’t realise is that a genuine WAEC certificate cannot be duplicated. The barcodes on the certificates we give out can be used to confirm a student’s grade.

”In addition, we often receive requests from educational institutions and even employers to confirm the validity of their employees’ certificates. Because their results couldn’t be confirmed, some students run into difficulties in their senior year.

Professor of Mathematics at Nigeria’s Federal University of Technology, Minna, Gbolahan Bolarin, has issued a call to action to the nation’s other universities and colleges. He also urged parents to steer their kids in the right direction without exerting undue pressure on them.

This incident has highlighted the importance of thorough screening in the admissions process at all of our universities, colleges of education, and polytechnics. Although JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) has taken over the role, this in no way absolves the previous administration. It’s important for parents to avoid putting undue stress on their kids. The majority of these concerns centre on parents who insist that their children take only one subject seriously, the professor noted.

Mike Ene, Secretary General of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, urged parents and educators to keep a close eye on students to prevent cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty. Certificate forgery, a form of malpractice, leads nowhere, in his opinion.

Teachers and parents are responsible for this. These youngsters need to be watched closely and taught that bad habits have no positive outcomes. Modern technological intervention can easily spot a forged result, making it extremely unlikely that anyone will try to forge a result and get away with it. Certificate forgery is rapidly becoming institutionalised as a cultural norm in Nigeria. You can’t turn on the news these days without hearing about high-ranking officials or politicians being accused of certificate forgery. If criminals are to be held accountable for their actions, law enforcement and educational institutions should work together.

Dr. Charles Umeh, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at the College of Medicine at the University of Lagos and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Idi-Araba, has observed that people who fabricate results do not have faith in their own ability to succeed through effort.

Students have little faith that they can succeed academically by studying hard. People are starting to value excellence more than ever before, and they no longer care how they acquire it. Successful people who are oblivious to their own success are idolised in today’s culture. When we were in college, we rarely saw anyone driving a car, but now even first-year students routinely cruise campus in luxury vehicles. Some of the younger ones, if asked, might argue that school is pointless. As a result, a syndicate of UTME and West African Senior School Certificate Examination result manipulators who extort desperate candidates for a’result upgrade’ is slowly but surely instilling in the minds of young people that cheating is the only way to succeed.