The Edo State government has confirmed the arrest of a private school owner behind the alleged N1,090,000 (One Million and Ninety Thousand Naira) 2026 Basic Assessment Examinations enrolment held last Saturday across the State.
The Permanent Secretary, Edo State Ministry of Education, Enodolomwanyi Otamere, however failed to disclose the name of the private school name and the identity of the owner, whom he said is cooling his feet in custody of the Police, Command in the State.
Otamere disclosed this in an interview on Radio station monitored by TheNewspad media on Sunday July 5, 2026 after his attention was called to the scandal at about 2a.m on Saturday.
He explained that the suspect reportedly collected the sum of N5,000 each enrolment fee the suspect collected from each parent of 218 Candidates for the conduct the Examinations for them, but he failed to refund the money to parents of the Candidates.
He also alleged that the suspect failed to make preparation, including venue and payment for marking results of the Candidates, who became stranded before he relocated to sit their Examinations at another venue in Benin City.
According to the official, “A total of 218 Candidates paid to the Proprietor who squandered their money and didn’t refund it to the owners. I got the call at about 2a.m last Saturday morning.
“The students almost missed the exams yesterday. I went straight to place and ensure that the affected students sit the Examinations formerly known as First school Leaving Certificate Examination.
“I caught the proprietor and I handed him over to police who kept him cell. Let him go and explain to police what he did.
“If you are a private school teacher or a Principal, you know the implications”, Otamere, who also decried surge in Examination malpractices, especially among some private schools in the State.
“There were some cases whereby some private schools lock their gates and deny accredited supervisors access to enter their school.
“But yesterday (Saturday) was a commendable exercise. And that is how it should be. The government is a serious and those of us who are working for the government are careful not to compromise standards”, he alleged.
Asked why each Candidate had to pay the sum of N5,000 legal fee to sit the Examinations, Otamere said, “The approved fee of N5,000 for basic Assessment Examinations, is recommended for the Examination conduct”.
The Permanent Secretary also lamented rural urban drift in the posting of public school teachers in both primary and Secondary schools in the State and assured for government plans to resolve the issue.
