The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially withheld the results of 167,486 candidates who sat for the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates due to reported instances of examination malpractice.
The Head of the WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, announced the development on Wednesday during a press briefing in Lagos.
According to him, the withheld results represent 8.59% of the total candidates who sat for the exam.
He said the figure is 1.11% lower than the 9.7% recorded in 2025, but warned that “the increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organized cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues.”
He added that some supervisors and invigilators caught aiding malpractice have been apprehended and would face sanctions through State Ministries of Education.
Affected candidates can now appeal via https://waecinternational.org/complaints.
Despite the malpractice cases, WAEC released results for the majority of candidates.
A total of 1,200,514 candidates representing 61.54% obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
This represents a 1.42% decrease compared to 62.96% recorded in 2025.
A total of 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea. 1,950,726 candidates sat for the examination.
“Of those who sat, 1,200,514 candidates—61.54%—obtained credits and above in five subjects, including English and Mathematics.
“1,687,378 candidates—86.50%—obtained credits and above in a minimum of five subjects, with or without English and Mathematics,” Dangut said.
“Among the 1.2 million candidates who passed English and Mathematics, 558,883, representing 28.65%, were male, while 641,631, representing 32.89%, were female.
“Overall, 953,459 males—48.88%—and 997,267 females—51.12%—sat the examination,” he further noted.
Dangut said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05%, have had their results fully processed and released.
The results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95%, are still being processed.
According to him, a total of 1,213 candidates with special needs registered.
This includes 137 visually challenged candidates, 491 with impaired hearing, 55 spastic cum mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
WAEC also disclosed that results of candidates sponsored by states indebted to the Council will not be released until payment is made.
This was the second time the Council conducted CB-WASSCE for school candidates.
Dangut, who said this was his third and last briefing as Head of WAEC Nigeria, cited new innovations including the Digital Examiner Mark System, DEMS, and serialisation of question papers to fight malpractice.
How to check results
Candidates can check results within 12 hours at http://www.waecdirect.org and now generate e-PINs directly online. Digital certificates are available 48 hours after checking results, while hard copies will be ready in 90 days.
Registration for WASSCE for Private Candidates 2026 – Second Series is ongoing at N37,500 with provision for walk-in candidates.
The examination was conducted from April 24 to June 19, 2026 and marked by 102,708 examiners across 88 marking venues.
