WAEC Civic Education 2020 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 2020 WAEC Civic Education paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 44 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Civic Education 2020 questions and answers

1. 1.Activities that act to clog the wheel of societal progress can be described as
   1. A
      social vices
      Correct
   2. B
      family issues
   3. C
      religious issues
   4. D
      cultural vices
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   Answer: A

   Social vices is the term used in Civic Education for anti-social behaviours and practices — such as corruption, examination malpractice, drug abuse, armed robbery, cultism, bribery and smuggling — that work against discipline, order and development in a society. Because these behaviours slow down or obstruct a nation's growth, they are described as activities that "clog the wheel of societal progress."

2. 2.The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) was established in the year
   1. A
      2007
   2. B
      2005
   3. C
      2003
      Correct
   4. D
      2000
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   Answer: C

   The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) was established in 2003, under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act signed into law that year by President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration. It was created mainly in response to growing concern about human trafficking, especially of Nigerian women and children, and to meet international pressure (including from the United States and the United Nations) for Nigeria to take concrete legal steps against the trade in persons.

3. 3.Responsible parenthood can complement the activities of government in several ways except by raising
   1. A
      reducing the crime rate in the society
   2. B
      promoting the economic development of the nation
   3. C
      producing healthy and well-trained children
   4. D
      increasing the rate of population growth
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Responsible parenthood means parents deliberately planning the number of children they have according to what they can train, feed, educate and provide for properly. Civic Education teaches that when citizens practise this, government benefits in several ways.

4. 4.The act of recruiting and trading of persons for the purpose of commercial exploitation is known as
   1. A
      Child labour
   2. B
      Slave trade
   3. C
      Smuggling
   4. D
      Human trafficking
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Human trafficking is the correct term. It is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by force, deception or coercion, for the purpose of exploiting them commercially — for example for forced labour, forced marriage, or sexual exploitation. The key elements are the recruiting and trading of people as if they were commodities, for profit.

   So the practice of recruiting and trading persons for commercial exploitation today is called human trafficking.

5. 5.Which of these cannot be responsible for the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS)?
   1. A
      Mosquito bites
      Correct
   2. B
      Unprotected sexual intercourse with an infected person
   3. C
      Sharing of unsterilized needles and razor blades
   4. D
      Blood transfusion from an infected donor
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   Answer: A

   Mosquito bites cannot spread HIV/AIDS. Unlike the malaria parasite, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus does not multiply inside a mosquito, and a mosquito does not inject blood from a previous person it bit into the next person it bites — it only injects its own saliva. So HIV has no way of travelling through an insect bite.

6. 6.The feeling of indifference people have towards participating in issues related to governance is termed
   1. A
      Political culture
   2. B
      Political apathy
      Correct
   3. C
      Political socialization
   4. D
      Political tolerance
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   Answer: B

   Political apathy is the correct term. It describes the lack of interest or concern citizens show towards governance and political affairs — not voting, not following public issues, not attending community or civic meetings, and generally feeling that participation "does not matter". This indifference is a major concern in civic education because it weakens democracy: when citizens disengage, government decisions go unchecked by the people they affect.

7. 7.Cult activities are usually characterized by
   1. A
      Secrecy and violence
      Correct
   2. B
      Voluntary withdrawal without consequence
   3. C
      Elected leadership and transparent accounts
   4. D
      Open membership and public recruitment drives
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   Answer: A

   Secrecy and violence are the defining features of cult activities, as taught in the Civic Education syllabus under the topic of secret cults and cultism. Members are initiated through secret oaths and rites that bind them to silence about the group's identity and operations, and the group typically enforces loyalty and settles rivalries through intimidation, assault and sometimes killing.

8. 8.Amuka stole a chicken from a poultry farm. The workers on the farm caught Amuka and gave him the beating of his life. Against the background of a democratic society, the farm workers in the story above are expected to
   1. A
      parade Amuka round the community as a disgraced thief
   2. B
      invite the vigilante group to mete out further punishment on Amuka
   3. C
      hand Amuka over to the police for necessary action
      Correct
   4. D
      make Amuka work on the farm without pay to repay the loss
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   Answer: C

   Handing Amuka over to the police is the correct civic response. In a democratic society, the rule of law and the principle of due process mean that no citizen, however wronged, has the right to act as judge, jury and executioner. Beating a suspect is jungle justice — exactly the kind of self-help action a democratic, rights-respecting society forbids, because every accused person is entitled to a fair hearing before a properly constituted authority. The farm workers' duty, once they had caught Amuka, was to stop short of further harm and report the matter to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

9. 9.Responsible parenting is the ability of parents to
   1. A
      leave the total upbringing and discipline of their children to schools and religious bodies
   2. B
      ensure that their children take up the same career and beliefs as the parents
   3. C
      allow their children unrestricted freedom to make all life decisions without guidance
   4. D
      provide for the physical, emotional, moral and economic needs of their children and guide them to become responsible citizens
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Responsible parenting is the ability of parents to provide for the physical, emotional, moral, social and economic needs of their children, and to guide, train and discipline them properly so that they grow into responsible, self-reliant and law-abiding citizens. This is the core duty civic education teaches as the foundation of good family life and, by extension, good citizenship.

10. 10.I: Rule of law. II: Judicial independence. III: Press Freedom. IV: Official opposition. V: Free, fair and periodic election. VI: Universal adult suffrage. The protection of citizens' rights can be best guaranteed when there is
    1. A
       Monarchy
    2. B
       Totalitarianism
    3. C
       Democracy
       Correct
    4. D
       Federalism
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    Answer: C

    Democracy is correct. Every item in the list — rule of law, judicial independence, press freedom, official opposition, free, fair and periodic elections, and universal adult suffrage — is a defining pillar of democratic government. It is precisely because these features exist together that citizens can challenge abuse of power in court, criticise government through a free press, vote leaders out, and have an opposition party watching government excesses. That combination is what best guarantees the protection of citizens' rights.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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