The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has cancelled the entire examination results of 861 candidates after they were found with mobile phones during the 2026 examinations.
WAEC’s Head of Public Affairs, John Kapi, disclosed this in an interview on Monday, September 7, 2026.
He explained that WAEC’s rules strictly prohibit candidates from taking mobile phones into examination halls, whether or not the devices are used.
“The rule is that once you have a mobile phone, your results are cancelled,” Mr Kapi said.
He expressed concern that candidates continue to enter examination halls with phones despite instructions to supervisors and invigilators to conduct thorough searches before allowing them in.
Mr Kapi said candidates could be finding new ways to hide the devices, while searches at some centres may also not be thorough enough.
“It is possible that the candidates devise a means of concealing these from the invigilators who are searching, or that the search is not thorough,” he stated.
“But the point is that we still find a lot of candidates who go into the examination hall with mobile phones.”
He said WAEC regularly reminds supervisors and invigilators during briefing sessions to conduct thorough searches of candidates before examinations begin.
In addition to the mobile phone cases, WAEC cancelled the subject results of 7,434 candidates for bringing unauthorised materials, including prepared notes, textbooks and printed materials, into examination halls.
The Council has also withheld the subject or entire results of 270 candidates pending investigations into various suspected examination offences.
Mr Kapi advised affected candidates to visit WAEC’s examination irregularities portal to find out why their results were cancelled or withheld.
