The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 167,486 candidates who sat for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates over alleged examination malpractice.
The withheld results account for 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who participated in the examination. The announcement came on Wednesday during the official release of the 2026 WASSCE results by the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, in Lagos.
Although the figure remains significant, it is lower than the 9.75 per cent of candidates whose results were withheld in the 2025 school examination, suggesting a slight improvement despite persistent examination fraud.
Dangut attributed many of the reported infractions to the growing misuse of technology and organised malpractice syndicates operating in some schools.
“The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues,”Dangut said.
He also disclosed that some supervisors and invigilators allegedly caught aiding malpractice had been arrested. According to him, the affected officials will face disciplinary measures through the relevant state ministries of education.
WAEC maintained that every reported case would undergo due process before a final decision is reached on the affected candidates. The council’s established procedure requires all suspected malpractice cases to be investigated before results are either released or cancelled.
More Than 1.2 Million Candidates Obtain Five Credits
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.
However, 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination. WAEC said 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
In addition, 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, earned credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Despite the strong performance, the council noted a 1.42 percentage-point decline in candidates who secured five credits, including English and Mathematics, compared with the 2025 examination.
The result suggests that while a majority still met the benchmark for admission into tertiary institutions, overall performance dipped slightly from the previous year.
Thousands of Results Still Await Processing
WAEC disclosed that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, had their results fully processed and released. Meanwhile, the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, were still being processed.
The council explained that pending results are generally linked to administrative issues and differ from withheld results, which arise from suspected examination malpractice.
Candidates with withheld results are expected to await the outcome of WAEC’s investigations before any final decision is taken.
Computer-Based WASSCE, New Technology Target Examination Fraud
The 2026 exercise marked the second edition of the Computer-Based WASSCE for School Candidates, following the introduction of the model last year.
According to Dangut, the council deployed several innovations to strengthen examination security and speed up result processing.
These include the Digital Examiner Mark System, the serialisation of question papers, and a new e-PIN portal.
The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026.
A total of 102,708 examiners participated in the marking exercise across 88 marking venues nationwide. Earlier, WAEC insisted that the examination suffered no question paper leakage, despite logistical disruptions that delayed some papers in parts of the country.
The council attributed those delays to operational challenges, including a fatal road accident involving some of its officials, but maintained that the integrity of the examination remained intact.
WAEC Warns Indebted States Over Candidates’ Results
Meanwhile, WAEC reiterated that candidates sponsored by state governments owing the council would not be able to access their results until the outstanding registration fees were paid.
Before the release of the results, Dangut appealed to indebted state governments and other stakeholders to clear their obligations promptly to prevent delays affecting innocent candidates.
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