Father of UTME Student Who Committed Su!cide Over Score Marks Demand Actual Result

Femi Opesusi, the father of 19-year-old Timilehin Opesusi, who tragically died by suicide after receiving a controversial score in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has

demanded that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) release what he described as the “actual” result of his daughter.

In an emotional interview with Channels Television, Opesusi insisted that the score issued to his daughter was not a true reflection of her performance and accused the examination body of tampering with her result after her death.

Timilehin, who resided with her elder sister in Ikorodu, Lagos, was one of over 300,000 candidates affected by a “technical error” that disrupted the UTME at multiple centres across the country. Despite scoring 190 in the previous year, she was shocked to find her 2025 score marked as 146. According to her father, she repeatedly expressed disbelief at the result, saying, “Daddy, this is not my result.”

Efforts by her father to calm her and assure her that the situation would be resolved were tragically unsuccessful. Within hours of receiving her score, Timilehin ingested a sachet of rodenticide and was rushed to a hospital by her sister but could not be saved.

Her death has sparked national grief and condemnation, prompting renewed scrutiny of JAMB’s examination processes. Initially, the Board maintained that all released results were valid. However, on May 14, amid growing public outrage, JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede admitted during a press briefing that a technical glitch had affected 379,997 candidates at 157 centres, predominantly in Lagos and the South-East. Oloyede apologised for the error, stating emotionally, “We are human; we are not perfect.”

In response, JAMB began a mop-up examination on May 16 for the affected candidates. During a recent meeting, the Board observed a minute of silence in Timilehin’s honour. However, her father said the family has received no direct communication from JAMB or any government official since her death.

“They have never called me, they have never granted me an interview, they have never said anything to me,” Opesusi stated. He added that he is not seeking an apology or compensation but simply wants to see his daughter’s true score. “I don’t want to see them. What I want is the actual result of my daughter, that’s the only thing.”

JAMB data shows that out of the 1.95 million candidates who sat the 2025 UTME, over 78% scored below 200, with just 12,414 scoring 300 and above. The controversy has ignited criticism from lawmakers and civil society groups. The South-East Caucus of the 10th House of Representatives has called for the resignation of Prof. Oloyede, branding the exam outcome a “national shame.”