Date: 2017-02-07

Despite several warnings by the leadership of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) to candidates to be wary of fake 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms, some students in Ilorin have fallen victim to scammers, National Pilot can report.

Scores of students who have fallen victim to the scam were said to have visited the Ilorin office of JAMB to express their displeasure over the circulation of fake forms in the state. Among the states where the sales of the counterfeit forms is prevalent in the country is Osun and Ekiti.

According to findings, the fake UTME forms, which have been in circulation in many states across the country for some weeks recently found its way into Kwara.

It was gathered that the forms are mostly available in private coaching centres, cyber cafés and business centres.

Speaking to this medium on the development, an official of JAMB at its Sango Office, who does not want his name in print said, "Despite several warnings to students to be wary of fake forms, many candidates have continued to fall victim of the scam.

"Even in Kwara here, some candidates were at our corporate office during the week to protest the purchase of fake JAMB forms demanding for the refund of their money having realised that they've been duped.

"It is worrisome that the scam has been on the rise, not only in Kwara but all over the country. In fact, it is prevalent in some states like Osun and Ekiti, where several students have been duped through sales of fake forms despite our media campaign that the form has not been officially released for sale," he disclosed.

Confirming the protest, an applicant who simply identified herself as Biola said, they were at Ilorin office of the examination body to register their displeasure on the scam, adding that the officials of JAMB they met however explained to them that there was nothing they could do to salvage the situation.

Speaking with one of the applicants who had fallen victim to the fraud, Ayobami Okuola, a 200 level Zoology student of the University of Ilorin, she lamented saying she met someone at a cyber café who promised to help her with the registration online.

"He knew I wanted to collect the form and advised me to give him the money in order to help me with the registration in the night. "When I asked why not in the daytime, he said that the JAMB portal is slow during the day due to congestion. I instantly paid him N5,000 and my information but I later realised that the 2017 UTME form is not yet on sale. Unfortunately, when I returned to the business centre for a refund, he was nowhere to be found," Okunola said regrettably.

Recall that JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishiaq Oloyede, in a recent interview, informed intending candidates that the 2017 UTME forms are not on sale yet, adding that the examination body will communicate to the public how and when to buy the forms.

According to him, the sales of the form was being delayed this year due to some machinery and resources JAMB intends to put in place to ensure hitch free exercise.

He stated that security agencies in the country have been saddled with the responsibility of arresting anyone found selling fake forms to unsuspecting members of the public.