JAMB candidate arrested for paying N10,000 to upgrade score

A Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidate, Cletus Kokowa, who reportedly hired a syndicate to upgrade his scores from 162 to 206, has been arrested by Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps operatives. 

The candidate from Bayelsa State with Registration Number 95329290ED, was arrested at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board headquarters in Bwari, Abuja, after he paid N10,000 to the syndicate group he contacted via Whatsapp.  

Kokowa arrived JAMB headquarters with his uncle who is an army officer, after his father, Garen, wrote a letter of complaint to the board asking for the rectification of his son’s scores. 

The UTME candidate who said he was convinced there was an error after checking the exam body's portal and seeing that his score remained at 162, confessed on Thursday to have employed a syndicate.Punch reported that Kokowa who admitted knowing that upgrading scores was an offence, said he did not believe he would be caught.

“Those people sent a mail to my electronic mail inbox that they could help me to upgrade my score. I then sent them my registration number and e-mail address. When the results were released and I checked, they showed me 206. Then, one of them called me and demanded payment.

“I later went to check and I found 162. I was confused. I had heard that upgrading scores was an offence, but I didn’t really believe it. I did not tell my father and my uncle about the syndicate" he said.

Speaking on the arrest, JAMB Registrar, Oloyede, vowed to ensure the arrest and prosecution of candidates who engaged in fraudulent practices before, during and after the examination.

He said, “One of the popular claims candidates usually make is that JAMB issued two different UTME results to them. But I said it was a lie because this result was processed via information and communication technology.

“When this boy came with his complaint, I asked for his records to be brought and we discovered that he had contacted fraudsters who gave him a fake result. We discovered that the result given to him was an imposition of another candidate’s result on his own. He is with the NSCDC and he will be handed over to the police for prosecution."