LAGOS — The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with 61.54 per cent obtaining five credits and above, including English Language and Mathematics. The Head of the council's Nigeria National Office, Amos Dangut, announced the results at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday. He said 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 schools registered for the examination, while 1,950,726 sat for it. Female candidates made up 51.12 per cent and males 48.88 per cent. The examination held from April 24 to June 19. A total of 1,200,514 candidates obtained five credits including English and Mathematics, while 1,687,378, or 86.50 per cent, obtained five credits regardless of the two subjects. Results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent, were withheld over suspected malpractice, down from 9.7 per cent in 2025. Dangut blamed the use of phones in examination halls and organised cheating in some schools. Another 116,031 results were still being processed and would be released within days. He said 102,708 examiners marked the scripts at 88 venues between July 2 and 20, and 1,213 candidates with special needs registered. Result checker PINs are now generated online using the National Identification Number, and smart ID cards have been discontinued. Digital certificates will be available within 48 hours and hard copies within 90 days. Dangut warned that invigilators found aiding malpractice would be sanctioned through state ministries of education, and said some people selling fake questions online had been arrested.