The Nigeria Police have paraded three secondary school teacher over their involvement in examination malpractice in the just concluded West African Examination Council (WAEC) examinations.
Parading the suspects, Thursday, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), DCP Frank Mba, said the teachers were arrested alongside a 17-year-old student of Charry Secondary School, Rivers state.
Mba said the suspects committed the offence using their phones to transmit answers to examination questions though the social media, a development which highlights the growing challenges with the use of social media and advance of technology.
“The suspects were involved in the transmission of examination questions and answers of West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) through the social media. The were all found to have snapped pictures of the examination questions and their solved answers on the social media.” the spokesperson said.
He said the Force has evolved new mechanisms for monitoring WAEC, NECO and JAMB examination in collaboration with the regulatory bodies to ensure examination malpractices are curbed.
“The suspects were involved in the use of internet to perpetrate examination malpractice. This breakthrough was carried out by the reinvigorated Cybercrime Unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) working in concert with the WAEC.”
Mba, who listed the suspects as Kelechi Ernest, 33; Darlington Ibuokanma, 36; Godstime Onuoha, 35; decried the involvement of teachers supposed to, not only nurture student but be custodians of the highest educational ethics and play lead role in making sure that people issued with certificates are deserving of the honour, in examination malpractice.
He said, Ernest, a native of Orumba South local goverment area in Anambra state, and a graduate of B.Sc Physics from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and teaches Physics and Mathematics at Community Secondary School, Uga, was arrested while supervising WAEC examination at Community Secondary School, Nkpologu.
Similarly, Ibuokanma, a native of Umundi, Anmabra state, and a graduate of B.Sc English, Anambra State University, Uli, who teaches at Okon Grammar School, Nnewi, while supervising English language examination.
Also, Onuoha a native of Ngor Okpala, Imo state, Nekede, Imo state and graduate of Mechanical Engineering, Federal Polytenic, Nekede, and teaches Mathematics at Pathway Secondary School, NGO Okpala, was arrested on May 13, 2019.
Fielding questions from journalists, Ernest, who owned up to taking photograph of a question paper, claimed he saved it for future use; just as Ibuokanma claimed he took photographs of question papers to assist his students in correction after their examinations.
However, Onuoha who claimed his students usually used his phone to contact their parents and guardians, maintained that he was not aware how the photograph of examination paper got into his phone.
The FPRO said the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigation.
