LOKOJA, Nigeria — The National Examinations Council (NECO) has rejected claims that Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, where five persons were abducted during the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), is a “miracle centre.”
In a statement issued on Friday, NECO’s Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, strongly disagreed with remarks attributed to the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, who reportedly described the school as a miracle centre following the abduction on Tuesday.
The examination body clarified that the school, owned by the Kogi State Government, has been in existence for over 40 years and has consistently presented candidates for the NECO Senior School Certificate Examination since 2000. Available records confirm that the abducted candidates are duly registered students of Government Secondary School, Olowa, who were presented for the 2026 NECO SSCE by the school in conjunction with the Kogi State Government.
NECO further stated that the school’s principal, Elder Daniel Iyamaa, who was among those abducted, is a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi State Civil Service, while the kidnapped examination supervisor, Mr. Solomon Audu, is a Grade Level 12 officer employed by the state government and posted to Community Secondary School, Effin.
The Council also dismissed suggestions that the candidates were external candidates, insisting that all 28 candidates registered by the school for the 2026 SSCE are bona fide students. To reinforce its position, NECO released the school’s SSCE enrolment figures over the past five years, showing consistent participation: 21 candidates in 2021, 20 in 2022, 28 in 2023, 40 in 2024, and 20 in 2025. The Council further disclosed that the Kogi State Government paid the WAEC SSCE examination fees for 51 students from the same school during the recently concluded 2026 examination.
NECO explained that it had anticipated security threats prior to the incident, noting that following a terrorist attack on Government Secondary School, Iluke, in Ijumu Local Government Area during the 2026 WAEC examination, its Kogi State Coordinator had formally written to security agencies requesting heightened protection for all active exam centres before the commencement of the 2026 SSCE.
While sympathising with the victims and commending the Kogi State Government and security agencies for securing the rescue of four of the five abductees, NECO urged public officials to verify facts before making public statements capable of undermining the credibility of institutions or creating unnecessary public anxiety. The Council reiterated its zero tolerance for examination malpractice and noted that it has introduced reforms that have significantly reduced reported malpractice cases over the past five years.
