WASSCE English Paper Leak: Parents Fear Mass Failure as WAEC, Police Launch Probe

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has launched an investigation into the widespread leakage of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) English Language paper, raising serious concerns about the credibility of the examination process and prompting fears of mass failure among students.

Sources close to the matter told Business Hallmark that the leak appears to have been an inside job, with suspicions pointing to some WAEC officials as possible collaborators in the early circulation of the English Language paper—reportedly leaked four days before the scheduled exam date.

The leak triggered a last-minute scramble that forced WAEC to reprint the examination papers and caused severe disruptions across multiple states including Lagos, Ogun, Taraba, and Osun. In some centres, students were made to sit for the English Language exam as late as midnight, under torchlights and lanterns due to electricity outages, as videos and photos on social media revealed.

In a statement issued on Thursday, WAEC’s Acting Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, acknowledged the breach and apologised for the irregularities that affected the conduct of the examination. She cited a combination of logistical setbacks, security concerns, and sociocultural issues as contributing factors.

“The measures taken to curb examination malpractice and leakage inadvertently impacted the timely and smooth conduct of the exam,” Adesina noted.

This year, over 1.9 million candidates registered to take the WASSCE across more than 23,000 schools in Nigeria. The disruption in the English paper, one of the most crucial subjects, has heightened anxiety among students and parents.

According to insiders at WAEC, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the issue, the council has involved the police and other security agencies in its investigation. One official disclosed that a whistleblower alerted WAEC to the leak during the distribution phase, prompting the emergency reprinting of new question papers.

“Some staff worked for 48 hours straight to manage the crisis. In Ikorodu, WAEC officials had to travel to printing presses to help pack and code the papers themselves,” the source said.

Further investigations have uncovered a network of “exam run” syndicates profiting massively from the leaks. One platform reportedly had over 80,000 subscribers, charging N1,000 per candidate for access to the leaked English Language paper. “Even if just 50,000 students paid, that’s N50 million,” the source said, confirming that the council is now working with law enforcement to trace digital payment trails on WhatsApp and Telegram platforms.

Some of the platforms involved include Free WAEC Exam Infos, WAEC GCE NECO Expo, King of Exams Runs, and Exam Tips Solution. These platforms charged candidates between N1,500 and N5,000 per subject. In one message seen by Business Hallmark, a Telegram group promised full English and Mathematics papers by midnight for VIP subscribers.

Leaked materials, including the full English Language Paper 2 cover page, essay, comprehension, and objective sections, were widely shared as early as four days before the examination.

A school administrator who requested anonymity accused senior WAEC officials of leaking the paper for financial gain. “This is about greed. We saw the full English paper days before the exam. Some students paid as much as N4,000 to get access,” he said.

In the aftermath of the scandal, the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) has expressed deep concern about the consequences of the chaotic examination, particularly the late-night conduct of the English paper in some centres.

NAPTAN’s National Publicity Secretary, Ademola Ekundayo, urged WAEC to cancel and reschedule the English Language exam to ensure fairness and prevent mass failure.

“The entire conduct was poorly managed. Students wrote exams under stressful and unfavorable conditions. We are calling on WAEC to do the right thing and organise a fresh paper,” Ekundayo said in a statement.

The English Language paper leak adds to growing worries over the integrity of Nigeria’s national examinations, coming just weeks after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) faced a massive technical glitch that disrupted the 2025/2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

As investigations continue, the credibility of the examination body and the fate of millions of Nigerian students now hang in the balance.