The West African Examinations Council has released the results of the 2026 Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination for school candidates.
A total of 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects including English Language and Mathematics.
Head of the Nigeria National Office Amos Dangut said the performance represented a decline of 1.42 percentage points from the 2025 result.
Of the 1,959,668 candidates who registered, 1,950,726 sat the examination across 24,207 schools in Nigeria and selected schools in neighboring countries using the Nigerian curriculum.
A total of 1,687,378 candidates, representing 86.50 per cent, obtained credits in at least five subjects with or without English Language and Mathematics.
Results for 1,834,695 candidates have been fully processed and released, while 116,031 remain under processing.
WAEC withheld the results of 167,486 candidates over alleged examination malpractice. The figure represents 8.59 per cent of those who sat the examination and is lower than the 9.7 per cent recorded in 2025.
Dangut attributed the reduction to computer-based testing, serialized question papers and the Digital Examiner Marking System.
He said the examination faced challenges including logistics, late registration, rising operating costs and fraudulent websites distributing fake examination materials.
Security agencies arrested some suspected offenders, while supervisors and invigilators accused of aiding malpractice would face disciplinary action.
The council also accommodated 1,213 candidates with special needs.
WAEC has stopped issuing printed smart identity cards containing result-checker codes. Candidates can now generate electronic result-checking codes using their National Identification Number.
Digital certificates will be available within 48 hours, while printed certificates are expected within 90 days.
Dangut urged governments and school owners to invest in computer laboratories and reliable electricity to support digital learning and examinations.
