… Reps Summon WAEC Over Irregularities, Late-Night Exam
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said that a foiled attempt to leak examination papers forced the body to reschedule its examinations late into the night across several centres in Nigeria.
This disclosure was made by the Head of the Nigeria National Office of WAEC, Mr. Amos Dangut, during an interview on Thursday.
Dangut explained that the council was alerted to a plot to compromise one of its exam papers slated for Wednesday, prompting an urgent change to prevent a security breach.
“We went to the drawing board and quickly came up with a solution to the compromised paper. We were able to achieve the aim we set out to achieve, which is to prevent leakage,” Dangut stated.
However, the emergency measure triggered a wave of logistical challenges, leading to significant delays in the distribution of materials, particularly in states such as Taraba, Kwara, and Ogun, where students were recorded writing their papers at night.
In Taraba State, for instance, WAEC officials were reportedly unable to deliver examination materials on time after the vehicle conveying them broke down. In Kwara State, a resident, Idris Yinka, posted that the exam papers arrived at a centre around 6:50 p.m., with students writing the paper from 7:00 p.m. to 8:25 p.m.
“We had serious logistical problems,” Dangut confirmed.
“The vehicle that was conveying the exam materials to Taraba broke down in the middle of the night, and efforts to recover and dispatch the materials were delayed.”
He added that the council regrets the situation and has taken steps to ensure such incidents are not repeated.
The incident is not isolated. Last week, SaharaReporters reported that students at Unity Modern School in Asaba, Delta State, wrote their WAEC papers under torchlight due to a four-hour delay in question paper delivery and a lack of electricity.
A viral video from the school showed students struggling to complete their papers in darkness while an exam supervisor used a torchlight to illuminate their scripts.
A woman in the background of the video lamented, “They are using torchlight to write WAEC. Even during my time of lantern, we did not use torchlights to write exams.”
The WAEC boss reassured the public that despite the disruption, the integrity of the examination was preserved.
WAEC is expected to carry out an internal review to strengthen its emergency response and logistics framework ahead of subsequent examination schedules.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has summoned the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to appear before its committee on basic education and examination bodies over what it described as “serious irregularities” in the ongoing 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
This follows widespread complaints over delays, late-night examinations, and other logistical lapses experienced during the conduct of the examination across the country.
The lawmakers, during a session on Thursday, issued a 24-hour ultimatum to WAEC to appear before the committee on Friday, May 30, or risk the invocation of constitutional sanctions.
Chairman of the committee, Oboku Abonsizibe Oforji, expressed disappointment at the examination body’s failure to honour an earlier invitation to a hearing on May 27, and again on May 29.
“The examinations have been riddled with serious irregularities. We’ve received reports of students writing exams as late as midnight in some centres across the country,” Oforji said.
According to him, the situation has generated widespread concern among parents, school authorities, and the general public, prompting the need for urgent legislative intervention.
The 2025 WASSCE commenced on April 24 and is scheduled to end on June 20. However, the English Language paper, which was supposed to hold on May 28, was reportedly delayed by several hours in many centres, forcing students to sit for the paper late into the night.
WAEC, in a statement, attributed the delays to strengthened anti-malpractice measures aimed at curbing question paper leakage. However, this explanation did not sit well with lawmakers, who say the response falls short of addressing the psychological toll and disorganisation faced by candidates.
“The House felt it necessary to summon WAEC to explain these developments and the trauma candidates are currently facing,” Oforji said.
He added that WAEC’s claim that its officials could not attend the hearing due to their involvement in the ongoing examinations was “ironical,” stating, “This is the very reason we are asking them to appear.”
Oforji warned that if WAEC fails to appear by the new deadline, the committee would not hesitate to invoke relevant sections of the constitution to compel compliance.
“Our intention is not to witch-hunt WAEC, but to seek answers that will calm public tension and prevent a recurrence of these challenges. WAEC has been conducting exams for decades, and we have never experienced this level of disorganisation. Something is wrong, and it must be addressed,” he said.
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