GIST: 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.

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.

“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.”