‘Mind-Boggling,’ NECO Questions Sold For N3,000 Before Exams, Education Minister Reveals

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has revealed that National Examinations Council (NECO) examination questions were allegedly sold for as little as N3,000 before candidates sat for the papers.

Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday at a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other stakeholders in the education sector, where he described the level of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling.”

The minister warned parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students against practices capable of undermining the integrity of public examinations.

According to him, examination malpractice had been tolerated for years, creating an unfair system in which students who prepared genuinely were disadvantaged by candidates who gained access to examination questions before the tests.

Alausa said the situation was particularly dangerous because honest students could eventually be pushed into malpractice in an attempt to compete with those who had access to leaked examination materials.

“It’s sad. Before she (Minister of State for Education) 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,” he said.

“The danger was that the good students would also become bad.”

Recounting his experience in efforts to combat examination malpractice, Alausa alleged that examination questions had previously been obtained and sold before candidates sat for the examinations.

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He referred to the former NECO Registrar, Ibrahim Wushishi, while recounting how leaked questions were allegedly sold.

“The Registrar of NECO at the time had a name. His name was (Ibrahim) 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 recalled his experience during the 2025 examination period, saying he was repeatedly sent questions allegedly obtained before candidates sat for their papers.

He said the development compelled officials to verify the questions with examination authorities, with some of the materials subsequently confirmed as the actual questions scheduled for the day’s examination.

“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.

“It could be English or Chemistry. I was always waking up with trepidation every morning, doing work. 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.’”

The minister said the experience demonstrated that examination malpractice could not be treated solely as a problem caused by students.

He said the wider education ecosystem, including parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals, must take responsibility for 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,” Alausa 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.”

Alausa said the Federal Government would strengthen measures to protect the credibility of public examinations and ensure that academic qualifications reflected genuine learning and merit.

He said the reforms were part of the administration of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to restore standards and reposition the education sector.

“This is a country with the rule of law. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is transforming this country in a way that’s never been transformed before. This is Nigeria’s renaissance that we’re building to be sustainable into the future,” he said.