NECO To Detect Identity Theft, Warns Against Enrolments By Proxy

Amid suspected fraudulent practice leading to the issuance of fake results, the National Examinations Council (NECO) has warned school owners and other relevant stakeholders to desist from enrolling candidates for its examinations by proxy.

In a statement by the acting director of information and public relations, Azeez Sani, in Minna, the council observed that “such fraudulent practices often result in identity theft and subsequent parade of fake results”.

“Determined to eradicate all forms of examination malpractice, the council has put in place some measures to check impersonation in all its examinations,” the statement added.

The statement said some of the measures include the use of biometric data capturing devices, customised answer booklets, and embossing of photographs and candidates’ dates of birth on the original certificates.

Similarly, the statement said the NECO e-verify, an online platform for confirmation/ verification of NECO results, was unveiled last year.

Consequently, the statement enjoined the members of the public to note that any certificate purported to have been issued by the council and which cannot be verified or authenticated using the NECO e-verify platform is fake.

In the same vein, the council called on state ministries of education and other school owners to ensure that only the personal details of genuine candidates are used for registration in all NECO-conducted examinations.

The statement reiterated that candidates found culpable of impersonation in the just released 2024 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Internal results were withheld, adding that the measure was part of the council’s robust policy to check all forms of examination malpractice.