The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates over alleged examination malpractice.

Despite the large number of withheld results, the figure reflects an improvement from the 9.7 per cent recorded in the 2025 examination.

The Head of WAEC's National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, announced the release of the 2026 WASSCE results during a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday.

According to Dangut, the affected results were withheld over various forms of examination malpractice, particularly the persistent use of mobile phones in examination halls despite an existing ban, as well as organised cheating in some schools.

"The increasing use of cell phones in the examination hall, in spite of the existing ban, and organised cheating in some schools, are other nagging issues," Dangut said.

He disclosed that several supervisors and invigilators caught aiding candidates in examination malpractice had been arrested and would face disciplinary measures through the appropriate state ministries of education.

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 test.

WAEC's performance statistics showed that: 1,200,514 candidates (61.54%) obtained credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.

1,687,378 candidates (86.50%) earned credits in five or more subjects, with or without English Language and Mathematics.

The council noted that the proportion of candidates who secured five credits, including English and Mathematics, declined by 1.42 percentage points compared to the 2025 results.

Of the 1,200,514 candidates who achieved the benchmark of five credits, including English and Mathematics: 558,883 (28.65%) were male while 641,631 (32.89%) were female.

Overall, 997,267 females (51.12%) and 953,459 males (48.88%) participated in the examination.

WAEC disclosed that 1,834,695 candidates (94.05%) had their results successfully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95%) were still being processed.

The council also revealed that 1,213 candidates with special needs participated in the examination, including 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 hearing-impaired candidates, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates.

The 2026 examination marked the second edition of the Computer-Based WASSCE for School Candidates since WAEC introduced the format.

Dangut said the council deployed several innovations aimed at improving examination credibility and speeding up result processing. These include the Digital Examiner Mark System, the serialisation of question papers to curb malpractice, and a new online portal that enables candidates to generate e-PINs directly to access their results.

The examination was conducted between April 24 and June 19, 2026, with 102,708 examiners participating in the marking exercise across 88 marking centres.

Dangut, who described the media briefing as his third and final engagement as Head of WAEC's National Office in Nigeria, also warned that candidates sponsored by state governments indebted to the council would not have their results released until the outstanding payments were settled.