Former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has dismissed the long-running claim that a snake swallowed money at the examination body, insisting the incident never happened and was merely a fabricated story that gained public attention.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News, Oloyede said the controversial incident, which became one of Nigeria’s most talked-about public sector scandals, predated his tenure as JAMB registrar and that his only role was to handle the matter after assuming office.
The controversy erupted in 2018 after a sales clerk at JAMB’s Makurdi office in Benue State claimed that a mysterious snake had swallowed ₦36 million realised from the sale of scratch cards. The explanation, reportedly offered during an internal audit into missing funds, sparked nationwide outrage, disbelief and satire, with the phrase “snake swallowed the money” becoming synonymous with implausible excuses for missing public funds.
According to him, the allegation was so unbelievable that he insisted the official’s account be recorded to preserve evidence.
“The snake matter did not occur when I was there. It was just that I had the fortune or misfortune that I had to address it. The matter had occurred before I assumed office,” he said.
Oloyede explained that the recording later proved useful when the incident became a national controversy.
“I insisted that we must record it because it was unbelievable. When the matter became a national issue, the tape was there. Even myself, I would have disbelieved myself if we did not have the recording of the narration of what happened,” he stated.
He maintained that no snake was ever found because none existed.
“There was no snake… Some people will say snakes were swallowing naira in JAMB, but they know that was just a creation of a mind. Many people took it literally and believed snakes swallowed money. The reality was that that never happened,” he added.
The former JAMB registrar also noted that the widely publicised Mesoma examination fraud case was not an isolated incident, saying the board had dealt with numerous similar cases over the years.
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