The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has again warned parents never to fall prey to the antics of criminally-minded staff members of the exam board.
Oloyede’s warning follows the public parade and humiliation of two staff members of the board who extorted money from UTME) candidates with a promise to secure their university’s admission.
The Registrar who expressed surprise that the affected staff defied the Board’s zero tolerance for corruption, vowed to ensure they face the full wrath of the law.
He warned parents and candidates not to be deceived into paying anyone money in the guise of securing admission to their chosen institution as the system is now fully automated.
“Anybody who engages in sharp practices, no matter who the person is, shall not be protected by the Board because the Board has zero-tolerance for corruption,” the JAMB boss said.
“The admission exercise into tertiary institutions has been automated, therefore anybody working in JAMB or anybody who has good calculation, who knows what admission process is, can predict who can be admitted because it has been automated.
Meanwhile, the two criminal staff members who engaged in the shady deal during their on Monday evening, before journalists in Abuja narrated their involvement in the crime.
Mr Andy Okoro, a level 12 officer in JAMB’s office, Delta State claimed he collected the sum of N500,000 from four candidates’ out of which he paid N180,000 to a colleague, Gambo Ibrahim Abba, to help facilitate the admissions.
However, they were exposed when a candidate’s parent petitioned JAMB in Delta State, prompting an investigation into the matter.
Okoro told that he engaged in the fraudulent act because of economic hardship.
His accomplice, Gambo, on the other hand, claimed he was hypnotised into committing the crime, after denying his involvement earlier.
He had claimed he was only involved in fishery business with Okoro but later confessed that his involvement in the act was not “ordinary”.
“It was not ordinary, he was just calling me, I don’t know him, he lured me into this when he convinced me that he has been into it for a long time,” Gambo lamented.