WAEC disowns list of 50 schools with withheld WASSCE results

The West African Examinations Council has dismissed as fake a letter circulating on social media claiming that the results of candidates from 50 secondary schools in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for school candidates were withheld over alleged examination malpractice.

WAEC issued the clarification in a post on its official X handle on Wednesday, urging members of the public to disregard the document.

“FAKE NEWS ALERT: Please disregard the message below. It did not originate from WAEC,” the council wrote.

The forged document, dated August 2, 2026, was purportedly addressed to heads of public and private secondary schools across Nigeria.

It claimed that the results of candidates from 50 schools had been withheld over alleged examination malpractice and directed the affected schools to submit detailed reports within 14 days or face further sanctions.

The fake letter listed schools across several states, including Lagos and Abuja.

It was also falsely signed in the name of the Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, and bore what appeared to be the council’s official letterhead and stamps.

WAEC shared an image of the forged letter with a large red “FAKE” stamp across it.

The clarification comes hours after the WAEC release of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE results for school candidates.

The council had disclosed that it withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination, over alleged examination malpractice.

According to WAEC, the affected results were withheld due to various infractions, including the use of mobile phones in examination halls despite an existing ban and organised cheating in some schools.

The council also said some supervisors and invigilators found aiding examination malpractice had been arrested and would face disciplinary action through the relevant state ministries of education.