Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a human rights lawyer, says Nigeria will continue to record accounts of result and certificate fraud until it begins prosecuting perpetrators to act as a warning to others.
The recent UTME result forgery attempt by Mmesoma Ejikeme, a 19-year-old student at Anglican Girls Secondary School in Anambra, has once again focused attention on the country’s forgery challenge.
Mmesoma claimed to have earned 362 in the 2023 UTME examinations, a figure that would have placed her as the top-performing student in the exam but admitted to altering her results to an Anambra panel set up by the governor to investigate the incident on Wednesday.
Mr Adegboruwa contended that numerous Nigerians are motivated by the Nigerian government’s failure to prosecute high-profile cases of forgery. In recent years, high-profile forgery cases have been pushed under the rug with little or no sanctions.
Before the JAMB board discovered her scheme, Mmesoma was going to be rewarded with cash rewards from Innosun Motors and the Anambra State government.
“Cases that should be prosecuted are being hidden under the carpet and the complainant ends up becoming the victim, so it has to do with getting the right people to ensure that the security people focus on their core mandate,” Mr Adegboruwa said.
Another lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, has urged lawmakers to actively pursue legislation that will prohibit future efforts at forgery.
While forging is still a global issue, Mr Ogunye noted that the prevalence of corruption in Nigeria has made it harder for law enforcement to crack down on the practice.
“Why is it so difficult for the ordinary people to get justice in this system, and the state to give justice?
“The problem we have here is that our laws are not rigorously, conscientiously enforced. Too often, criminals in high places and low places are permitted to go scot-free.
“And we have many of them. So, if the law is enforced the way it ought to be, I believe that people will take notice,” he said.
