The National Examinations Council (NECO) has debunked allegation that the examination centre at Government Secondary School, Olowa, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, where five persons were abducted on Tuesday, is a miracle centre.
It sympathise with the victims and commends the Kogi State Government and the security agencies for their coordinated efforts which has led to the rescue of the remaining four victims from captivity, however disagreed with the statement credited to the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, who described the school as a miracle centre.
NECO Acting Director Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani stated this in a statement issued to Newsmen in Minna, the Niger state capital.
NECO while trying to set the record straight stated that the school, which is owned by the Kogi State Government, has been in existence for over forty years and has been presenting candidates for the NECO Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) since year two thousand, while Principal of the school, Elder Daniel Iyamaa, who was among those abducted, is a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi State Civil Service.
Similarly the statement further explained that kidnapped supervisor, Mr. Solomon Audu, is a Grade Level 12 officer employed by the Kogi State Government and posted to Community Secondary School, Effin.
Available records also showed 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 while the Councils records indicate that the 28 candidates registered by the school for 2026 SSCE are bona fide students and not external candidates, contrary to the impression by the Commissioner.
NECO State Coordinator in Kogi State had, prior to the commencement of the 2026 SSCE, written to and solicit support of security agencies in the state to ensure smooth conduct of the examination, which was informed by the unfortunate terrorist attack on Government Secondary School, Iluke, in Ijumu Local Government Area during the 2026 WAEC Senior School Certificate Examination, because
NECO, under Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, maintains zero tolerance for examination malpractice and has introduced far-reaching reforms to safeguarding the credibility of its examination.
PR ALIYU LAWAL.
