An education advocacy group has given WAEC 14 days to address concerns over the integrity of the 2026 CB-WASSCE results or face legal action
2026 WASSCE Results: Group Threatens WAEC With Lawsuit Over Alleged Irregularities
By Lukman OMIKUNLE
An education advocacy group has given the West African Examinations Council 14 days to address concerns over the integrity of the 2026 computer-based West African Senior School Certificate Examination or face legal action.
The Initiative for School Excellence and Education Foundation, through its lawyers, is demanding that WAEC preserve all examination records, grant affected candidates access to their electronic examination records and subject the computer-based examination and result-processing systems to an independent verification exercise.
Alex Onyia, who identifies himself as the Chief Executive Officer of EDU Care on X, shared the letter from the group’s lawyers on Friday. Onyia was among those who raised concerns about the examination results shortly after they were released.
“We have now taken legal action against WAEC. WAEC has 14 days to respond and take appropriate action, failing which we will proceed with litigation,” Onyia wrote.
The letter, dated August 14, 2026, and signed by Chinwe Onubogu, Principal Partner of Zuriel Law Practice, was addressed to the Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office in Lagos.
The development came a day after WAEC defended the credibility of the 2026 WASSCE results following criticism on social media.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the examination body said it had observed a “recent wave of public commentary” questioning the accuracy and credibility of the results released on August 5.
WAEC maintained that the results were produced through its established marking, moderation and auditing processes, while urging the public not to rely on unverified claims.
In its letter, however, the foundation said it had received representations from a “substantial number” of candidates who raised concerns about the “accuracy, reliability and verifiability” of their 2026 CB-WASSCE results.
It argued that the “scale and nature of concerns warrant objective verification before these results are treated as beyond meaningful challenge.”
The group wants WAEC to preserve electronic and documentary records relating to the administration, processing, scoring and release of the examination results. The records sought include candidate response databases, examination-session records, system audit trails, server and application logs, scoring databases, result-generation records and reports on system errors, interruptions and other technical incidents.
It is also demanding that affected candidates be allowed access to their electronic examination records, including their recorded responses, scores and information showing how their final grades were generated.
The foundation further requested “records of any manual intervention, correction, adjustment or reprocessing” that may have affected candidates’ results.
It also called for an independent verification exercise involving experts in educational assessment and information technology to determine whether the computer-based examination platform and result-processing system operated accurately and consistently.
“Given the systemic nature of the concerns being reported, our client respectfully proposes that WAEC, in consultation with appropriate independent educational assessment and information-technology experts, establish an independent verification exercise capable of determining whether the 2026 CBE platform and result-processing system operated accurately and consistently,” the letter stated.
“The purpose of such verification would not be to substitute external judgment for WAEC’s academic judgment, but to determine whether the technological and administrative processes upon which the results depend operated reliably,” it added.
The foundation also asked WAEC to provide information on the “technical framework governing the 2026 CBE and the measures taken to determine whether such incidents affected candidates’ results.”
WAEC released the 2026 WASSCE results on August 5, with its Head of National Office, Amos Dangut, announcing the outcome at a press briefing in Lagos.
The release triggered debate on social media, with some users alleging glitches in the computer-based examination. WAEC, however, did not specifically identify the social media claims referenced in its Thursday statement.
The council said every candidate’s script undergoes a multi-tiered process of marking, moderation and auditing based on standardised marking schemes and supervised by vetted subject experts. It also said candidates have access to channels through which they can raise queries and grievances.
According to WAEC, 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the 2026 examination, while 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination conducted between April 24 and June 19.
The council said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent of those who sat the examination, had their results fully processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates, representing 5.95 per cent, were still being processed when the results were announced.
A total of 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects irrespective of English Language and Mathematics, while 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, secured credits in at least five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
WAEC also withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, over alleged examination malpractice.
