By Lizzy Chirkpi
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has dismissed claims by the Kogi State Government that Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina Local Government Area, where gunmen recently abducted examination candidates and officials, is a “miracle centre.”
NECO described the allegation as false, insisting that the school is a duly recognised public institution owned by the Kogi State Government and has presented candidates for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) for more than two decades.
In a statement issued on Friday by its Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, the council defended the integrity of the school and its examination centre.
“The National Examinations Council categorically denies the 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’,” the statement said.
NECO’s reaction followed comments attributed to the Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, who, after the victims were rescued, described the school as a “miracle centre” allegedly used by candidates from outside the state.
Countering the claim, the examination body said Government Secondary School, Olowa, has been in existence for more than 40 years and has consistently presented candidates for the SSCE since 2000.
According to NECO, the 28 candidates registered by the school for the 2026 SSCE are bona fide students of the institution and not external candidates, contrary to the impression allegedly created by the commissioner.
The council also identified the abducted principal, Elder Daniel Iyamaa, as a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi State Civil Service, while the kidnapped examination supervisor, Solomon Audu, was described as a state government employee deployed from another public secondary school.
To further establish the school’s status, NECO said its records show that Government Secondary School, Olowa, has consistently presented candidates for its examinations over the years, with 21 candidates in 2021, 20 in 2022, 28 in 2023, 40 in 2024 and 20 in 2025.
The council added that the Kogi State Government paid the examination fees of 51 candidates from the school for the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), a development it said underscored the institution’s recognition as a public school.
NECO also reiterated its commitment to maintaining the integrity of its examinations, stressing that it has zero tolerance for examination malpractice.
The council disclosed that before the commencement of the ongoing SSCE, it had requested enhanced security for examination centres across Kogi State following earlier attacks on schools in parts of the state.
The controversy followed Tuesday’s attack on Government Secondary School, Olowa, when gunmen stormed the school during the ongoing 2026 NECO Senior School Certificate Examination and abducted the principal, a NECO external supervisor and four students from the examination hall, sparking renewed concerns over the safety of schools and examination centres.
On Thursday, the Kogi State Government announced that all the victims had been rescued through a joint operation involving security agencies and local vigilantes.
Following the rescue, Fanwo said preliminary investigations suggested the school operated as a “miracle centre” allegedly patronised by candidates from outside Kogi State.
NECO, however, has rejected the allegation, maintaining that Government Secondary School, Olowa, is a legitimate public institution with duly registered students and cautioning against branding it an illegal examination centre without evidence.