Mother Calls Attention to JAMB Officials Cyberstalking Her 15 Year old Daughter Post-registration
A woman has taken to X to call attention to JAMB staff cyberstalking her 15-year-old daughter following her registration at a certain centre.
Damilola Bamiro, an information and communication technology (ICT) consultant for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has stated that the organisation took swift actions after the woman's complaints.
“Today, based on a social media report that has gone viral, a woman complained that her 15-year-old daughter was being approached by a staff of the supposed centre, via a chat on the X platform."
“Immediately we got the information, we swung into action because, of course, the board will never stand for such an act where anybody coming in contact with candidates’ information will now turn around and use it for personal use."
“This contravenes a lot of laws today. So, going further, we identified the center, as you can see here since our system identifies who has registered a candidate, and we were able to apprehend both the person that registered the candidate and the person that approached the minor."
“We have already apprehended the suspects, just so to assure Nigerians that JAMB will always swing into action wherever any case against candidates is reported."
“We take such issues as data protection very seriously. We have since handed them over to the police for further prosecution."
“Naturally, any of the other centres that had infringed on any of our policies, we have had their access immediately withdrawn, and I would like to inform you that we have done the same with this centre,” he stated.
On this account, registration officials at computer-based test (CBT) centers throughout the nation have been advised by Damilola Bamiro that they risk having their access revoked if they do not adhere to the rules for candidate registration.
On Monday in Lagos, the board and a few security agents conducted a joint "sting operation," during which Mr Bamiro delivered the warning. The background of his speech was the information the board had received on a candidate's alleged cyberbullying.
But, as Mr Bamiro pointed out, candidates who had registered at the centre prior to the clampdown were still valid, and he assured them that they were all safe.
Other applicants who are waiting to be registered at the facility should go to other centres, he said. He then further elaborated by saying that from that point on, the board will not accept or acknowledge any more registrations at that location.
Following the incident, he added, access to the centre in question had been disabled for candidate registration. This was done to prevent innocent candidates from being exposed to future hazards.
“Nothing ties a candidate to any particular centre. The truth is, when we ask the centres to supply the National Identification Number (NIN) of every staff member who is going to work and comes in contact with candidates, they think we are joking."
“So, we are now using this opportunity to remind all the CBT centres that coming in contact with minors and other candidates generally is a serious matter. Officials of these centres are the ones that are supposed to be the guardians of these candidates and help them ensure that they are doing the right thing and are safe.
“You know we have a policy that parents are not allowed in our centres, which means these candidates are in the care of these registration officers."
“So, if now there is any issue like this one, we have no choice than to take it seriously, to reassure parents that that policy of ensuring that we can handle these children is preserved and parents can still be rest assured that JAMB will not hesitate to tackle any complaint from any parent with cases of similar nature,” he stated.