The Federal Government has refuted an online report claiming that the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and National Examinations Council (NECO) exams have been cancelled due to widespread examination malpractice.
In an official statement released on Sunday by Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, the government clarified that the 2025 WAEC exams were successfully concluded with only a few isolated incidents of malpractice, all of which were swiftly addressed by relevant authorities.
The Ministry further confirmed that the ongoing NECO examinations are progressing without any reported cases of misconduct.
It urged the public to disregard the false information and rely solely on verified sources such as the official websites of the Ministry of Education, WAEC, and NECO for accurate updates.
The statement also warned that the spread of false information will be subject to investigation and legal action.
According to the Ministry:
> “The 2025 WAEC examinations have concluded successfully, with minimal and promptly managed instances of malpractice.
“NECO examinations are currently ongoing, and there have been no reported cases of cheating or other irregularities as of this release.
“No official report has been received from WAEC, NECO, or any relevant examination body indicating widespread malpractice in either of the examinations.
“The public, including students, parents, and school administrators, is advised to ignore the circulating fake statement, which is completely fabricated and intended to spread confusion and fear.”
The discredited statement, which circulated widely online, was presented as an “urgent notice” dated July 19, 2025, and falsely attributed to a certain Dr. (Mrs.) Aisha Lawal. It alleged that the Ministry of Education had cancelled the 2025 WASSCE due to massive malpractice, including exam leaks, artificial intelligence-facilitated cheating, and staff collusion. The document also claimed that all previously written exams from May 6 to July 18 were nullified, with a new timetable to be issued by August 5.
Other baseless claims in the fake release included reports of exam papers being leaked up to 72 hours before their scheduled dates, widespread use of AI-generated answers and remote cheating tools, involvement of WAEC staff in illicit distribution of exam content, and the flagging of over 480 centres for coordinated cheating patterns.
However, WAEC has firmly denied these allegations, stating that no such decision has been made, either independently or in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. As of Saturday, no official statement from WAEC or any government body has confirmed the claims.
WAEC has since urged candidates, parents, and the public to ignore unverified publications and rely only on its official communication channels for authentic information.
