The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has dismissed a viral document circulating on social media claiming that the results of candidates from 50 secondary schools in the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) were withheld over alleged examination malpractice.
In a statement shared on its official X account on Wednesday, the examination body described the document as fake and urged the public to disregard it.
According to WAEC, the letter did not originate from the council and should not be considered an official communication.
The forged document, dated August 2, 2026, was purportedly addressed to principals of public and private secondary schools across Nigeria. It falsely claimed that the results of candidates from 50 schools had been withheld over examination malpractice and instructed the affected schools to submit reports within 14 days or face further sanctions.
The fake notice also listed schools from different parts of the country, including Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, and carried the forged name and signature of the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Dr Amos Dangut, alongside counterfeit official letterheads and stamps.
To counter the misinformation, WAEC released a copy of the forged document marked prominently with a red “FAKE” stamp.
The clarification followed the release of the 2026 Computer-Based WASSCE results for school candidates.
Earlier, the council announced that it had withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat for the examination, over allegations of examination malpractice.
WAEC explained that the withheld results were linked to various forms of examination misconduct, including the use of mobile phones in examination halls and organised cheating in some schools.
The council also disclosed that supervisors and invigilators found to have aided examination malpractice had been apprehended and would face disciplinary action through the appropriate state ministries of education.