WAEC Officials Detained for Contempt of Reps Probe

On Tuesday, four officials from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) were detained by the Nigeria Police Force at the behest of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Examination Bodies. The officials include Amos Dangut, Head of National Office, WAEC Nigeria; Senior Deputy Registrar Angus Okeleze; Acting Director of Finance Victor Odu; and Deputy Director of Finance Segun Jerumeh.

The detainment followed a motion by committee member Uchenna Okonkwo, who took issue with the officials' unsatisfactory responses during an investigative hearing. The tension arose when Dangut argued that WAEC, being a non-governmental body, was not accountable to the parliament.

Despite Dangut's position, the lawmakers asserted that WAEC Nigeria, created by an Act of the National Assembly, was obligated to report to the parliament. Okonkwo proposed that the officials be detained at a police post until further resolution of the matter. The motion received support from Marie Ebikake, the representative for Brass/Nembe Federal Constituency in Bayelsa State.

Following their detainment, which lasted about 15 minutes, the officials were released after a closed-door session. The committee directed them to return with audited financial statements for the period from 2018 to 2024 and documents related to a N5 billion loan taken by WAEC in 2022 for purchasing customized calculators and other items.

Committee Chairman Oforji Oboku emphasized that WAEC is subject to the National Assembly's oversight and that the organization must operate within the framework of Nigerian laws. He assured the officials that the committee's actions were not intended as a witch-hunt but as part of their supervisory role.