Days after raising allegations about the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, an official of the West African Examinations Council in Nigeria, Olanrewaju Fadehan, has been invited by the Nigeria Police authorities.

The invitation, contained in a letter dated 3 September an d signed by the Director of the Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC), Akaninyene Ezima, an Assistant Inspector General (AIG), said it is investigating matters concerning cyberstalking and criminal defamation.

The police authorities asked Mr Fadehan to appear in person at the NPF-NCCC office in Abuja on Wednesday, 9 September for an interview with the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Defence and Protection.

The letter, with the reference number CR: 3000/X/NPF-NCCC/FHQ/ABJ/DP-JG/VOL34/922, did not name the complainant or state the specific statements allegedly constituting cyberstalking or criminal defamation.

It said the police centre was investigating a case “in which it is imperative to obtain clarification” from Mr Fadehan.

Background

Mr Fadehan, the head of the examinations department in Anambra State’s office of WAEC, had recently questioned the integrity of the 2026 WASSCE results and accused the examination body’s management of compromising the process.

The invitation comes against the backdrop of mounting controversy over the 2026 WASSCE results and a series of allegations made by the WAEC official about the examination body’s management.

In a video that circulated widely online, Mr Fadehan alleged that there were problems with the examination process and that last-minute adjustments were made shortly before the release of the results.

He also alleged that candidates who took the CBT examination were particularly affected in subjects including Mathematics, English Language and Igbo.

Mr Fadehan accused the WAEC management of alleged corrupt practices involving, among other things, the supply of calculators and candidates’ identification cards.

He said only 13,000 calculators were supplied for about 65,000 candidates in Anambra State at the beginning of the examination.

He claimed to have raised his concerns with the WAEC Board, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examining Bodies, as well as the Minister of Education, but that his complaints were yet to be addressed. He said instead, he has been subjected to disciplinary proceedings and placed on interdiction.

The WAEC official called on President Bola Tinubu to investigate the circumstances surrounding the performance of candidates, particularly those who took the computer-based examination.

WAEC defends 2026 results, opens review for dissatisfied candidates

The police invitation comes just as the examination body has stepped up its defence of the 2026 WASSCE results.

Speaking on Thursday during a monthly dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN), WAEC’s Head of National Office, Amos Dangut, rejected claims that technical glitches affected the examination or its results.

Mr Dangut said WAEC’s marking, moderation and results-processing procedures remained credible and urged stakeholders with concerns to follow the council’s established review process.

He also said the 2026 examination did not leak and attributed the decline in examination malpractice to reforms introduced by WAEC, including computer-based assessment, randomisation and serialisation of questions.

According to him, the examination malpractice rate dropped from 9.7 per cent in 2025 to 8.59 per cent in 2026.

Mr Dangut also explained that the delay in releasing the 2026 results was to allow for further checks. WAEC had initially planned to release them on Monday, 3 August, but postponed the announcement until Wednesday, 5 August.

Amid the concerns, WAEC has asked schools and candidates dissatisfied with their results to apply for a review. The review costs about N6,000 per script, according to the HNO.

Mr Dangut said the council would accelerate the processing of outstanding review requests and expected them to be completed within two weeks.