The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has discredited a viral list claiming that the results of 120 schools were withheld in the recently released 2025 May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Following the official release of the 2025 WASSCE results—where only 38.32% of candidates were reported to have obtained at least five credits including English Language and Mathematics—a fake circular began circulating on WhatsApp and other platforms. The document, falsely attributed to WAEC’s Director of Examination Malpractice and Irregularities, Dr. Florence Omobonike Ajayi, listed 120 schools allegedly under investigation, with a large number of them based in Lagos State.

The circular claimed that principals of the named schools were to appear before an Investigative Panel by August 16, 2025, with relevant documents and candidate scripts. However, WAEC has firmly denied issuing such a directive.

In a statement made to Tribune Online, the examination body clarified that the message did not originate from them and described the claims as entirely false and misleading. A WAEC official, speaking exclusively to the outlet, explained:

“The message never emanated from us. Moreover, WAEC will never ask any school to bring the scripts of their candidates to the office. Where would they get them from? We don’t know schools by their names. We only know centres and their Centre Numbers.”

WAEC emphasized that schools do not have access to students’ examination scripts and reiterated its commitment to maintaining strict protocols in the handling of assessment materials.

The council has urged the public to disregard the fraudulent message and rely only on official channels for updates regarding examinations and results.