The West African Examinations Council has seized 167,486 results from the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination due to suspected examination misconduct. This figure accounts for 8.59 percent of the candidates who sat for the test, reflecting a slight drop from the 9.7 percent recorded in 2025.
Announcing the release of the official results on Wednesday in Lagos, Dr. Amos Dangut, Head of the WAEC Nigeria National Office, explained that the withheld results stemmed from infractions such as organised school cheating and the persistent smuggling of mobile phones into examination halls.
“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 further noted that several supervisors and invigilators caught assisting candidates in cheating have been arrested and referred to state ministries of education for disciplinary action. Additionally, Dangut confirmed that candidates funded by state governments owing debt to the council will not receive their results until those arrears are fully cleared.
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea, with 1,950,726 taking the exam. Of these, 94.05 percent (1,834,695 candidates) have had their results fully processed and released, while 5.95 percent (116,031 candidates) remain under processing to resolve ongoing issues. The participation pool included 1,213 special-needs candidates, comprising visually impaired, hearing impaired, spastic, mentally challenged, and physically challenged individuals.
In terms of academic performance, 1,200,514 candidates (61.54 percent) achieved five credits or higher including English Language and Mathematics, representing a 1.42 percentage point drop compared to 2025. Breakdowns show 558,883 males (28.65 percent) and 641,631 females (32.89 percent) reached this benchmark. Meanwhile, 1,687,378 candidates (86.50 percent) secured five credits with or without English and Mathematics. Female participation stood at 51.12 percent (997,267 candidates), slightly exceeding male participation at 48.88 percent (953,459 candidates).
The 2026 diet, held between April 24 and June 19, marks the second run of the CB-WASSCE for school candidates. The evaluation process involved 102,708 examiners across 88 marking centers nationwide, utilizing new digital innovations such as the Digital Examiner Mark System, question paper serialization, and an updated portal for direct e-PIN generation. The media briefing served as Dangut’s final public address in his role as Head of the National Office.
