WAEC Releases 2026 WASSCE Statistics, Withholds 167,486 Results Over Examination Malpractice
WAEC has released 2026 WASSCE results, withholding 167,486 (8.59%) over alleged examination malpractice, including mobile phone use and organised cheating.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially released the statistics for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, revealing that the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59% of those who sat the examination, have been withheld over alleged examination malpractice.
Announcing the results in Lagos on Wednesday, the Head of WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, said the withheld results are linked to various examination infractions, including the persistent use of mobile phones in examination halls despite an existing ban, and organised malpractice in some schools. He disclosed that some supervisors and invigilators implicated in aiding examination malpractice have been arrested and will face disciplinary action through the appropriate authorities.
The withheld figure represents a slight improvement compared with the 9.7% recorded in the 2025 WASSCE.
Registration and Participation
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, and Equatorial Guinea registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the exercise, conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026.
- 997,267 female candidates (51.12%) participated
- 953,459 male candidates (48.88%) participated
- 1,213 candidates with special needs participated, including 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates
Performance
- 1,200,514 candidates (61.54%) obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics — a decline of 1.42 percentage points compared with 2025
- 1,687,378 candidates (86.50%) secured credits in five or more subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics
Results Processing Status
- 1,834,695 candidates (94.05%) have had their results fully processed and released
- 116,031 candidates (5.95%) have results still being processed
Other Developments
Dangut noted that the 2026 WASSCE marked the second edition of the Computer-Based WASSCE for School Candidates. The Council introduced several innovations, including the Digital Examiner Mark System to speed up result processing, serialisation of question papers to curb malpractice, and a new portal allowing candidates to generate e-PINs directly for checking results, eliminating dependence on Smart Identity Cards.
The examination was conducted with 102,708 examiners involved in marking across 88 marking venues.
Dangut also disclosed that candidates sponsored by states indebted to the Council would not have their results released until outstanding payments are cleared.
Candidates whose results have been withheld are advised to remain calm pending the conclusion of investigations by the Council.
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