MARIAN AWUNI vs. WEST AFRICAN EXAMINATION COUNCIL IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION BY DANIEL AWUNI PER HIS NEXT FRIEND.

The appellants, thirteen students from Notre Dame Minor Seminary, sat for the 2000 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) conducted by WAEC. WAEC's Final Awards Committee cancelled their entire examination results and barred them from participating in any WAEC examinations for three years, alleging examination malpractice involving foreknowledge and collusion in Mathematics Core Paper 2. The appellants and their school headmaster contested the decision, arguing procedural unfairness and lack of opportunity to be heard. WAEC relied on script scrutiny as evidence and denied the need for candidate representation. The appellants initiated judicial review proceedings claiming violation of their constitutional rights under Articles 23, 24(1), and 25(1)(b) of the 1992 Constitution.

KPEGAH JSC. On 17 June 2004, this court allowed the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal but reserved its full reasons to be given later. I now proceed to give my reasons why my vote was cast that the appeal be allowed. The facts of this case are fairly simple and I do not think a detailed discussion or analysis of them is crucial to the determination of this appeal. The essential facts should not seriously be in dispute since the case was contested from the trial High Court to this court purely on legal grounds, both substantive and procedural, with the latter dominating and tilting the scales against the appellant in the Court of Appeal. The case arises out of the decision of the Final Award Committee of the West African Examinations Council (hereinafter referred to as the council) not only to cancel the entire results of the appellants but also to ban them from taking part in any examinations conducted by it for three years. The facts, which in my view are ess...