The Federal Government has revealed that National Examinations Council (NECO) questions were allegedly leaked and sold to candidates for as little as ₦3,000 before they sat for their examinations.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and other stakeholders in the education sector.
Alausa described the level of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling,” warning that the practice had created an unfair system in which students who prepared honestly were disadvantaged by those who gained access to examination questions in advance.
According to the minister, examination malpractice had been tolerated for years, raising concerns that students who genuinely prepared for examinations could eventually be pressured into cheating simply to compete with those who obtained leaked materials.
“It’s sad. Before she and I came, the acceptance of examination malpractice, cheating and examination leakages in this country was mind-boggling, and the country accepted it. It was a nightmare,” Alausa said.
“The danger was that the good students would also become bad.”
Recounting his efforts to tackle examination malpractice, the minister alleged that candidates had previously been able to obtain NECO questions before the scheduled examinations and purchase them for ₦3,000.
He referred to former NECO Registrar Ibrahim Wushishi while explaining how the leaked questions were allegedly accessed.
“The Registrar of NECO at the time had a name. His name was Wushishi. You would go to Wushishi… I didn’t know that Wushishi meant going to the dark website,” he said.
“They bought his question for N3,000. That was it. Before the examination. They called him Wushishi and bought the questions for N3,000 before the examination.”
Alausa also recounted what he described as a troubling experience during the 2025 examination period, when examination questions were repeatedly sent to him before candidates sat for the papers.
He said the leaked materials were forwarded to examination officials for verification, with officials confirming in some cases that the questions were the actual papers scheduled for that day.
The minister said the experience showed that examination malpractice was not solely a student-related problem but involved a wider network within the education system.
According to him, parents, school proprietors, teachers, principals and invigilators all have important roles to play in preventing candidates from gaining unfair access to examination materials.
“You might be in that isolated school, but the school system is also involved. In fact, I don’t blame the students that much. Any child can be bad,” he said.
“But when we have an ecosystem where parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals are in full connivance, the students are the smallest players. The people who should put the deterrents in place are the ones involved.”
The Federal Government has also moved to strengthen examination security, including the use of serialised examination questions to make it more difficult for candidates to benefit from leaked papers.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, urged private school proprietors and other stakeholders to support the reforms, stressing the need for schools to complete their curricula and encourage students to prepare adequately for examinations.
The government said the measures are aimed at restoring integrity to Nigeria’s public examination system and ensuring that students are assessed based on their genuine academic preparation.
