Tragic Loss Of Teen Over UTME Score Overshadowed By Late Admission Notice
The community of Odogunyan, Ikorodu, Lagos State, is reeling from the heartbreaking death of 19-year-old Timilehin Faith Opesusi, who took her own life after receiving a disappointing score of 190 in the 2025 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Opesusi, originally from Abeokuta but living with her older sibling in Lagos, ingested rodent poison on Monday, overcome by despair over her results. Neighbours described the aspiring microbiology student as “gentle and humble.” A close friend revealed that Opesusi had scored higher in last year’s UTME, adding to her distress over this year’s outcome.
The tragedy unfolded when Opesusi visited her sister’s office, requesting palm oil to ease the pain from the poison she had consumed. Her sister raised the alarm, drawing a crowd of sympathisers. While being rushed to Kolak Hospital in Odogunyan, Opesusi confessed to taking the poison. Despite efforts to save her, she passed away at the hospital.
In a cruel twist of fate, just 30 minutes after her death, a provisional admission notification arrived in Opesusi’s Gmail inbox, compounding the family’s grief. Her parents, upon learning of the tragedy, travelled to Ikorodu and took her body back to Abeokuta for burial.
Local residents voiced frustration with JAMB, pointing to widespread disappointment with the 2025 UTME results. The incident has sparked renewed debate about the pressures faced by young Nigerians in the pursuit of higher education.
This tragedy follows other recent concerns surrounding JAMB, including reports of 96% of A-level results at Bayero University, Kano, being fraudulent and technical issues affecting 8,391 candidates, some of whom are threatening legal action.
