A primary school dropout, who is an iron bender apprentice, Olushade Festus, has been arrested by the police for allegedly selling and sharing prepared West African Examinations Council questions and answers links to candidates.
The school dropout is 20 years old.
Festus was arrested alongside Samuel Kayode, 27, a Physics and Mathematics teacher in two private schools in Ondo State; Adabayo Ifeoluwa, 17, a student of Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State; and Ayade Ahumed, 17, who was undergoing repairs of damaged phones.
Festus who created two WhatsApp platforms, waechomeofexpo and waecvip, for the purpose, said he got the links from unknown sources.
The primary school dropout said he did it to assist his friends and others who are taking the examinations because of the high failure rate.
Festus said he didn’t make use of the questions and answers to further his own education because he was not interested in schooling.
Ifeoluwa, who created another WhatsApp platform, wcc, where he shared links of WAEC examination questions and answers, said he did it to make money and support his studies in the university.
He also could not offer any tangible source for the questions and answers.
Ahmed also shared the links to candidates who paid money to access the platforms.
The Lagos Police Commissioner, Edgal Imohimi, who paraded the suspects, said WAEC questions and answers are being hijacked by some syndicates who sell it to the general public and make money.
Imohimi said the syndicates are in the business of sending examination candidates already prepared answers of questions.
He said: “There was an intelligence information that got to the Police Command and based on it, the police tracked these groups and arrest was made.
“Investigation revealed that these atrocities are committed on various websites and platforms.
“Police discovered that the questions paper with the syndicates are word to word with the one provided by WAEC for the 2018 examination.
“The first person confessed and admitted to have committed the crime and evidence was established through his mobile phones.
“We have translated a letter to the body to visit the command so that we can jointly set up heads and get to the root of this national embarrassment and ensure that there is end to it.”
The Head of Public Affairs of WAEC, Demianus Ojijeogu, who was at the parade ground, said the examination leakage has nothing to do with the body.
Ojijeogu stressed that none of the staff of WAEC was involved in the leakage.
In the vein, a 48-year-old suspected operator of fake WAEC examination centre at Igbogbo, Ikorodu area of the State was arrested.
According to Imohimi, the suspects were arrested on April 25 following complaint by a senior staff of the WAEC office, Ogba.
He said the complaint was that there is a fake WAEC centre at El-Supreme Private School located at 3, Oseni Adekogbe Street, Igbogbo, Ikorodu.
The detectives attached to Area ‘G’ Command, Ogba were mobilized to the address where the owner of the centre, identified as Pastor Adeniyi Joshua of El-Supreme Church, was arrested.
The police boss said: “WAEC Question Papers and Answer Sheets suspected to be forged by the owner of the centre and photographs of some of some of the candidates sitting for the exam were recovered from him.
When the suspect was approached by journalists for questions, he refused to speak, stressing that he cannot talk as he has lost his voice.
The CP, however, warned parents to verify centres used as special exam centre before registering their children there.
He said the suspects would be charged to court after completion of investigation.