ON September 14, Kelvin Odanz @MrOdanz shared a tweet claiming that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) senior school certificate examination held in Chibok, one of the epicentres of Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State, Nigeria.
He applauded the commending the Nigerian Army for its interventions in the area.
“…WAEC exams were held in Chibok town where those 200+ girls were abducted by Boko Haram in 2014. This is historic, all thanks to the safety net provided by the Nigerian army,” he tweeted to his 63,000 followers.
The tweet, which had 933 likes, has been retweeted over 300 times as at 2:00pm on Wednesday, September 23, 2020.
THE CLAIM
That the West African Examination Council (WAEC) held its senior school certificate examination in Chibok town.
THE FINDINGS:
Chibok town became prominent following the abduction of secondary school girls by the Boko Haram insurgents in 2014.
A total of 276 girls were kidnapped from their dormitory in the Government Secondary School located in North-East Nigeria.
While some of the girls managed to escape, 100 were freed in an exchange deal during a negotiation arranged by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The girls’ abduction sparked social media movement with the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls.
The incident led to disruption of educational activities in the area. But six years after the incident, findings by the FactCheckHub revealed the West African examination body resolved to return to the state to resume the secondary school examination.
Two hundred and thirty-eight (238) students in Chibok participated in this year’s examination, Demianus Ojijeogu, WAEC Spokesperson told the FactCheckHub during a verification process.
“Yes, 238 candidates wrote the examination. There was no problem; everything went smoothly,” Ojijeogu said.
Media organisations had earlier reported the examination. Prior to the 2020 WAEC examination, reports say students would often travel to Jos, Maiduguri and other major cities in Nigeria’s northern states to write the examination.
THE VERDICT:
The claim that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) held its senior school certificate examination in Chibok town is TRUE.
Olugbenga heads the Investigations Desk at The ICIR. Do you have a scoop? Shoot him an email at [email protected]. Twitter Handle: @OluAdanikin