A Secondary School teacher at a private school in the Agege axis of Lagos, Mr. Kareem Olawale, has been charged with examination malpractice at a magistrates’ court sitting in the Ogba area of the state.
Olawale, 49, was reportedly invigilating candidates sitting the last West African Senior School Certificate Examination at the school when he was caught reportedly sharing English Language questions on a WhatsApp platform.
An official of the West African Examination Council was said to have reported the teacher to the police at the Area G Command, Ogba, and he was arrested.
It was gathered that the question paper was circulated on a WhatsApp group tagged, ‘WAEC Leaked Solution Team.’
A source told our correspondent that Olawale, who taught Business Studies and Social Studies, at the school denied the allegation, claiming that he sent the question paper to his cousin to prepare for WASSCE next year.
The source said, “The teacher was asked by the principal to supervise the candidates sitting English Language on August 26, 2020. He then photographed the question paper before the exam started and circulated it on the WhatsApp group. He was caught in the act and reported to the police.
“At the station, he told the police that his cousin, who is a Senior Secondary School 2, will sit WASSCE next year and he sent it to him so he could use it to practise ahead of the exams. When he was asked how the question got to the WhatsApp platform, he could not give a satisfactory response.”
Olawale was consequently brought before Ogba Magistrates’ Court on four counts bordering on examination malpractices.
The police prosecutor, ASP Ben Emuerhi, told the court that the offence contravened sections 168 (d), 324 (d), 387 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The charges read in part, “That you, Kareem Olawale, and others now at large, on August 26, 2020, at 11am, on Mulero Street, Agege, Lagos, did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit cheating, conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace and examination malpractices.
“That you, Kareem Olawale, and others now at large, on the same date, time and place, with intent to cheat, did fraudulently use your Itel phone to snap the English Language Objective questions of the ongoing examination and spread it on WhatsApp group of WAEC Leaked Solution Team.”
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges before the presiding magistrate, Mr. J.A Adegun.
He was granted bail in the sum of N100,000 with one surety in the like sum.
