The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the release of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results for school candidates.
Speaking during the official presentation of the results in Lagos on Wednesday, the Head of WAEC’s National Office, Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut, revealed that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, earned at least five credits, including English Language and Mathematics. He noted that the result reflects a 1.42 per cent decline from the 2025 performance.
According to the council, 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools across Nigeria, the Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 eventually sat for the tests.
WAEC disclosed that 1,687,378 candidates, equivalent to 86.50 per cent, obtained a minimum of five credits regardless of whether English Language and Mathematics were included.
Of the 1,200,514 candidates who secured five credits, including English and Mathematics, 558,883 (28.65 per cent) were male, while 641,631 (32.89 per cent) were female.
The examination body further stated that 953,459 male candidates (48.88 per cent) and 997,267 female candidates (51.12 per cent) participated in the examination.
On result processing, WAEC said 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, have had their results completely processed and released, while the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95 per cent) are still undergoing processing.
The council also reported that 1,213 candidates with special needs registered for the examination, comprising 137 visually impaired candidates, 491 with hearing impairment, 55 spastic and mentally challenged candidates, and 41 physically challenged candidates.
Regarding examination malpractice, WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, over various infractions. The council noted that this is lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
Dr. Dangut attributed many of the malpractice cases to the continued use of mobile phones in examination halls despite the ban, as well as organised cheating in some schools.
He added that several supervisors and invigilators allegedly caught assisting candidates to cheat had been arrested and would face disciplinary action through their respective State Ministries of Education.
