From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has praised the efficacy of the National Identity Number (NIN) in minimizing cases of impersonation during registration, thereby, improving the credibility of the system.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, stated this in Abuja, when he paraded two persons arrested for tempering with the credibility of the system during registration for 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Prof. Oloyede said the suspects identified as 50-year-old Sesan Obasa, and his alleged accomplice, Salvation Terhembe, were arrested at one of the JAMB’s registration centres in Bwari, following unsuccessful attempts to carry out registration on behalf of Obasa. He said the 36-year-old had appeared before a JAMB registration official and was about to scale the first accreditation stage when the picture on the NIN indicated that he was impersonating Obasa. Terhembe, who admitted to the crime, said he was contacted by Obasa to supply information for registration at the JAMB centre because he was busy with work, saying that he ignorantly assisted him not knowing that his actions breached JAMB rules.
Speaking in defence of his actions, 50-year-old Obasa, who had applied to study public administration, said he was misled by his determination to go to school, which moved him with desperation to put in for JAMB this year. He admitted that Terhembe carried out UTME registration on his behalf, and pleaded for leniency, as he was completely unaware that his actions were tantamount to identity fraud. JAMB registrar, who lauded the efficacy of NIN in checkmating identity fraud, said, but not for the use of NIN, the impersonator would have successfully carried out his registration.