IBUGBE

Two suspects were, on Friday, apprehended by the police over their alleged involvement in impersonation during the 2021 UTME registration.

50-year-old Sesan Obasa and an accomplice, Salvation Terhembe were arrested and paraded before newsmen by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, for alleged impersonation.

The two suspects were apprehended by the police over impersonation during the 2021 UTME registration.

Terhembe was caught at one of JAMB’s registration centres in Bwari by a staff of the board as he attempted to register Obasa for the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

The 36-year-old almost scaled the first accreditation process when the picture on the National Identification Number, NIN, showed he was impersonating Obasa.

Terhembe, who admitted to carrying out the act, said he was contacted by Obasa to supply his information for registration at the JAMB centre because he was busy with work, adding, however, that he was only assisting and was not aware that his actions breached any rule of JAMB.

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 identify fraud.

JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who lauded the efficacy of NIN in checkmating Identity fraud, said if not for the use of NIN, the impersonator would have successfully carried out his registration.

Oloyede, who was visibly angered by the action of the offenders, said they were “fraudsters,” vowing to hand them over to the police.

“You can see the advantages of NIN; by the time we put this boy to test, you would see that he had done registration in previous years for other people,” he said.