The 19-year-old student from Anambra State, Nigeria died by suicide last week after seeing what she believed was a devastatingly low score in her 2025 UTME result. Convinced that her future had collapsed before it even began, she ended her life.
Now, in a tragic twist, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has admitted that over 370,000 results—including possibly Mmesoma’s—were affected by a serious technical glitch during this year’s UTME process. It’s a revelation that has left her family shattered, and a country asking: how does a young girl die because of a mistake that shouldn’t have happened?
“She didn’t even wait to ask questions,” her aunt said quietly. “She believed the system. She thought the score was her reality.”
The heartbreak has reignited fury across Nigeria. In a press briefing that was supposed to offer clarity, JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede instead brought the nation to a standstill when he broke down in tears and took full responsibility for the error.
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“I am the Registrar, and I take full responsibility,” he said, visibly emotional. “Whatever our technical partners did or didn’t do, the burden is mine. A young life has been lost because of us.”
According to JAMB, a massive technical malfunction affected result computation and dissemination, causing inaccurate scores to be sent to thousands of candidates. While many later received updates or corrections, Mmesoma never got that chance. The damage was done.
The weight of Nigeria’s high-stakes exam culture has never felt heavier. Mmesoma, described by teachers and classmates as intelligent, driven, and full of promise, had always dreamed of studying Mass Communication. Like many Nigerian youths, she saw education as her only ladder upward.
“Her life revolved around school,” said her older brother. “She didn’t party. She didn’t complain. She just worked hard. She deserved better.”
What she got instead was silence from the system—until it was too late.
Professor Oloyede, in his remarks, acknowledged that the Board’s technical partners failed to detect the glitch on timeand that the review process came late.
Mental health advocates are also calling for a systemic overhaul—not just of the exam process but of how Nigeria supports (or doesn’t support) its students under pressure. The reality is that suicide among young Nigerians is rising, but the conversations around mental health still remain buried under stigma and silence.
