Imagine writing your Maths paper at 8:11pm, by the light of your mate's phone torch. That's exactly what happened to thousands of WASSCE candidates last week, and WAEC says it wasn't their fault.

The West African Examinations Council has finally spoken out after that messy week of late-night exams in Oyo, Lagos and Osun. In a statement on Monday by its Head of Public Affairs, Moyosola Adesina, WAEC said the delays came down to a brutal mix of logistics, operational slip-ups and, most tragically, a fatal road accident.

Three WAEC officials died last Wednesday, June 3, 2026, on the Gombe-Yola highway when their truck collided while they were transporting sensitive examination materials interstate. WAEC says that crash alone threw its whole distribution schedule off.

And it showed. On Wednesday and Thursday, candidates sitting Mathematics and Agricultural Science didn't get their papers until well after dark. In some centres, they were still writing Government and Agric Practical at 6:30pm, 8pm, even past 8:11pm in Ogbomoso and Saki. No light, no generator, just torchlights, phone flashlights and solar lamps. Some students had to move outside the classroom to catch the last bit of daylight.

WAEC's explanation in full:

“The delay was caused by a combination of logistical and operational challenges, notably the direct result of a devastating motor accident on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, which tragically claimed the lives of three of our dedicated personnel... This heartbreaking loss, coupled with prevailing regional security challenges, severely compromised our distribution schedule.”

They also pointed to three other factors:

Finalisation issues – late tweaking of how the exams would be conducted

Late registration – which slowed down printing of papers and answer booklets

Security concerns – including mass protests over the abduction of schoolchildren in some areas, which hampered movement of materials

WAEC insists its staff "worked around the clock" to roll out emergency contingency measures while still mourning their colleagues.

For parents and state governments who were fuming, Oyo State had already called for papers to be rescheduled if they can't arrive by 4pm, WAEC says it's sorted now. They point to Friday, June 5, as proof that things ran smoothly and promise the rest of the exam will be "hitch-free."

The 2026 May/June WASSCE started on April 21 and is due to finish on June 19.

It's a tough one, three families are grieving, and thousands of teenagers ended up writing critical papers in the dark. WAEC says it was unavoidable. Many Nigerians are still asking if better planning could have prevented it.

Reporting via cbinewstv

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