West African Examinations Council distances itself from compilation of 50 institutions whose WASSCE results are being held back

The West African Examinations Council has categorically denied the authenticity of a letter circulating on social media, which falsely claims that the results of candidates from 50 secondary schools in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination for school candidates have been withheld due to alleged examination malpractice.

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This clarification was issued by WAEC in a post on its official X handle on Wednesday, where it urged the public to disregard the document, labeling it as fake news with the message "FAKE NEWS ALERT: Please disregard the message below, as it did not originate from WAEC."

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The forged document in question is dated August 2, 2026, and appears to be addressed to the heads of public and private secondary schools across Nigeria, stating that the results of candidates from 50 schools have been withheld over alleged examination malpractice.

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It further instructs the affected schools to submit detailed reports within a 14-day timeframe, warning of potential further sanctions, and lists schools from various states, including Lagos and Abuja.

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The fake letter bears the name of Dr Amos Dangut, Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, and features what seems to be the council's official letterhead and stamps, in an attempt to appear genuine.

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WAEC has shared an image of the forged letter, clearly marked with a large red "FAKE" stamp across it, to alert the public to its inauthenticity.

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This clarification from WAEC comes shortly after the council announced the release of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE results for school candidates, which included the withholding of results for 167,486 candidates due to alleged examination malpractice.

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These withheld results, representing 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who took the examination, were due to various infractions such as the use of mobile phones in examination halls and instances of organised cheating in some schools.

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According to WAEC, some supervisors and invigilators found to be aiding examination malpractice have been arrested and will face disciplinary action through the relevant state ministries of education.