Men of the Rivers State Police Command have cordoned off the Port Harcourt office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) following the alleged unruly behaviours of prospective JAMB candidates.
Also cordoned off were the Okija and Manilla Pepple Streets leading to the JAMB office in the D/Line area of Port Harcourt.
The Tide learnt that the action of the Police followed a peaceful protest embarked upon by thousands of prospective UTME candidates at the JAMB office over their inability to print out their centres few days to the commencement of the 2015 University matriculation examinations in the state.
Some prospective candidates, who chanted slogans such as “No more JAMB”, expressed their frustration over the manner in which preparations for the 2015.UTME examinations were being conducted.
Some of them, who spoke under condition of anonymity in an interview with The Tide, said that many of them were yet to know their centres, stressing that most cybercafés in Port Harcourt were finding it difficult to access the JAMB portal to print out their examination centre slips.
Some of the candidates, alleged that since last Monday when the printing of the slips commenced, majority of them have not gotten their own “for an examination that is supposed to start on Monday”.
They explained that “we ran out of patient when by Wednesday the whole of the JAMB premises and the street leading to the office were filled with candidates, while the JAMB officials “were being sluggish about distributing the slips.
“We spent from 7.00am to about 6.00pm daily since the printing of the slips commenced, and at the end of the day, they just dismissed us without explaining to us why we were treated that way.
“That is why we decided to make the world know of our plight before things get out of hand and we suffer individually for something that is not our fault” they said.
Reacting earlier in an interview with The Tide, the state Controller of JAMB, Mrs Beatrice Eta Nyiam, described the action of the candidates as unnecessary as the office was working round the clock to ensure that every duly registered candidate got his or her slip.
She said that only candidates who registered at her office and other designated centres will be allowed to sit for the exams, stressing that those who registered at unauthorized cybercafés and banks would not be allowed to write the exams.
Nyiam said that her office registered only 13,000 candidates for the examinations, while unspecified number of candidates were registered by other approval centres such as; the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State Polytechnic Rivpoly, Bori, and others.
According to her, the examinations, which are computer-based, would take place in nine centres in the state and 400 across the country.
She acknowledge that as at Monday, only about 2,000 slips had been printed out for the candidates, adding that the staff had to work extra hard to ensure that they printed out the centre and exam numbers of the remaining candidates, who had flooded the premises and adjoining streets and spaces around their office for the important document.
“By Wednesday when we were printing out more slips, the candidates suddenly, started throwing stones and bottles at the staff, forcing us to run for safety,”, she explained.
Mrs Etta- Nyiam explained further that as a result of the commotion caused by the candidates on Wednesday, which took the timely intervention of a detachment of the State Police Command to save the situation, the office was closed on Thursday for security reasons.
She, however, assured that the office would be opened early today (Friday) in order to attend to the candidates, but only if there was Police protection.
The Tide’s investigation revealed that the students became impatient out of fear that most of them may not get their slips before the commencement of the examination on Monday.
Meanwhile, some of the candidates who registered in some JAMB approved centres, specifically, Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), were given what turned out to be fake print outs that bore the portrait of another person.
On complaining to the zonal coordinator, she stated that they registered in unapproved centres, hence nothing could be done about it, explaining that it would have been sorted out if they had come earlier.
The Tide also gathered that some private Cyber Cafes hacked into JAMB’s website, and may have given out some of the fake print outs.
The candidates The Tide further gathered, alleged that the centres they registered could not access the JAMB website in order to print out their slips.
On coming to the JAMB office to verify the position of their slips, the students alleged that JAMB officials refused to give them reliable information.
This, then explained, warranted the crowd in JAMB office as virtually all the candidates in the state had to coverage in JAMB office for their slips. This is against the earlier directive that they were supposed to get their slips from where they registered.
The students also alleged that over 30 candidates were arrested by the Police during the commotion on Wednesday.
When contacted through telephone, the state Police Public Relations office (PPRO), said he could not comment on it because he had not been briefed as at press time.
Sogbeba Dokubo/John Bibor
Two commissioner-nominees by the Rivers State Governor, Hon Isobo Jack from Akuku-Toru (right) and Engr ThankGod Ode from Abua/ Odual LGA, at the Rivers State House of Assembly for screening , yesterday.
Photo: Chris Monyanaga