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Nigeria’s Education Minister Tunji Alausa has alleged that National Examinations Council (NECO) examination questions were sold for N3,000 before candidates sat for the papers.
Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other education stakeholders.
He described examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling” and warned parents, teachers, school owners, principals, invigilators and students against practices that weaken public examinations.
The minister said malpractice had been tolerated for years, creating an unfair system where students who prepared properly were disadvantaged by those who accessed examination questions before the tests.
He warned that such practices could also push honest students into cheating to compete with candidates who had access to 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.
He added that the “danger was that the good students would also become bad.”
Recounting efforts to tackle malpractice, Alausa alleged that examination questions had previously been available for sale before candidates sat for their papers.
He said, “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.”
“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,” he said.
Alausa also recalled what he described as one of the most difficult periods of his career during the 2025 examinations.
He said questions were sent to him before candidates sat for the relevant papers, forcing officials to verify whether the leaked materials were genuine.
“During that examination period, during the hardest time of my life, I was always worried, waking up. I would wake up to her text. She would send questions to me… She would say, ‘I just got this question,’” he said.
Alausa said the questions covered subjects including English and Chemistry and were checked with examination officials.
“I would send it to the HNO and ask, ‘HNO, is this correct?’ And the answer I got was, ‘Unfortunately, that’s the question we’re doing today,’” he said.
He said the experience led to a more aggressive intervention because officials could see and confirm examination questions before the papers were written.
Alausa stressed that examination malpractice should not be blamed solely on students, saying the wider education system must take responsibility.
“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.
He added that parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals could either prevent or facilitate examination malpractice.
“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,” Alausa said.
The minister warned that the Nigerian Government would strengthen measures to protect the credibility of public examinations and ensure academic qualifications reflect genuine learning and merit.
He said the reforms formed part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s efforts to raise standards and reposition Nigeria’s education sector.
“What are we doing? Desecrating the Nigerian system? It won’t happen. Not under the watch of this President,” Alausa said.
He added, “This is a country with rule of law. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is transforming this country in a way that’s never been transformed before. This is Nigeria renaissance that we’re building to be sustainable into the future.”
Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, also urged private school proprietors and other education stakeholders to support the government’s reforms.
Ahmad said tighter examination controls could initially expose weaknesses in students’ actual academic preparation.
She explained that some students who performed exceptionally well in internal examinations might have become accustomed to accessing leaked questions before external examinations.
According to her, serialised examination questions would make it harder for candidates to rely on leaked materials and encourage genuine preparation.
