Police Officer Arrested For Hiring Mercenary To Write UTME

• I hired Mercenary because I was away on special duty, says culprit

Etim Isreal, a constable in Akwa Ibom state police command, has been arrested by The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for engaging the service of someone else who’s believed to be a mercenary to write the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for him.

Israel, doing debriefing in Abuja, told newsmen that he paid the mercenary ₦30,000 for his services because he could not sit for the exam in person as he was away on special duties. The said mercenary, a teacher who is identified simply as Emmanuel, is now at large.

The policeman said he registered for the exam with his name while the mercenary/impersonator used his picture and other biometric details to sit for the exam.

Israel ran into troubled water after he tried to begin with his admission process having scored  over 240 in the exam.

He was told he would not be able to proceed with his admission because his face is not what appeared in the picture on the examination body portal.

This prompted him to visit JAMB’s office for correction, a move that landed him in trouble.

Israel said: “I went to their (JAMB) office to change my picture when they told me (in Akwa Ibom) that I won’t be able to use the result because of the picture.”

The Police Constable appealed to JAMB to temper justice with mercy, promising to help the board in investigating issues of impersonation in UTME.

Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, who said Israel will be prosecuted in accordance with the law, expressed concerns on the antics of some candidates that try to circumvent watertight measures put in place to prevent impersonation.

Oloyede said the policeman was one of the 657 candidates that requested for change of picture in their registration profiles, adding he was arrested where he could not give convincing reasons before he later confessed to engaging a mercenary in the exam.

He cited an instance where a woman’s name appeared on the registration list and a man would attempt to sit on her behalf.

He said: “When some candidates complain that they have registered for our examination but could not be verified on the day of examination, many do not grasp the full import of their claims as such candidates, who are more often than not impersonators, expected to be allowed to enter the examination hall without undergoing necessary searches.

“However, in the last UTME, the Board introduced the taking of a snapshot of the candidate who claims they could not be verified and comparing the new picture with the one in our database.

“As a result of this innovation, only very few cases of impersonation were recorded compared with the number in the past.

“657 want to change pictures and we are now asking them to come forward and give reasons for the change, we are expecting them.”

The registrar said the directive by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, that all institutions should use the already captured biometrics and pictures by the Board in processing admission has made it impossible for candidates whose examinations were taken on their behalf by professional examination takers to gain admissions.

Oloyede also said the Board may not have the capacity to ensure the robust prosecution of all those involved in impersonation during the UTME but will select some from across the country to face the wrath of the law.