David Adewuyi

INEC REMOVES 1.6 MILLION RECORDS FROM VOTERS' REGISTER, IDENTIFIES 54 STAFF IN 10 STATES AS COMPLICIT The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the removal of 1,609,553 records from the national register of voters following a clean-up of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. It also revealed that 54 persons across ten states have been identified as complicit in the irregularities and face disciplinary action and possible prosecution. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this at a press conference on the display and publication of the Preliminary Voters Register held at the Commission’s Headquarters on Monday 9th November, 2026. Prof. Amupitan said the figure comprises 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, which were removed as a separate category. The Commission harvested 11,088,238 records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR, and the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 of these for examination. He cautioned that flagging does not equal invalidity. "A flagged record is not necessarily an invalid registration: automated screening identifies matters requiring review, while authorised adjudication determines the outcome," he said. Before the Preliminary Register was published, 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded. A further 268,000 cases then went to adjudication following objections, claims and complaints received during the display. Of these, 217,722 were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared as valid and retained. Additional screening identified 113,886 more invalid registrations, which were also removed, bringing the post-display removals to 331,608. "The Commission confirms that the current register-cleaning exercise for the 2025/2026 Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) has been concluded," Prof. Amupitan said. The chairman said the Commission considered the scale of the removals "significant enough to warrant an examination of how it occurred and those responsible for this." According to him, the technical assessment examined suspected multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and irregularities in registration transactions, and found that some registration personnel acted deliberately. "The Commission found instances in which certain registration personnel deliberately circumvented established registration procedures and misused provisions intended for exceptional registration circumstances including for persons with disabilities," he said. He added that the affected records had been identified and subjected to review and remediation, and that the personnel involved had been identified for further administrative investigation. "Fifty-four persons cutting across ten States have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them including possible prosecution," he said. To prevent a recurrence, the Commission is strengthening its registration controls with "enhanced biometric capture, authentication and verification safeguards." The announcement follows complaints, claims and objections received during the display of the Preliminary Register at the ward level between 9 and 15 October 2026, and its subsequent online publication. Members of the public pointed to apparently artificial or manipulated photographs, duplicate registration attempts, unusual names and registration patterns, and deceased persons remaining on the register. Some alleged the irregularities were intentional and aimed at compromising the 2027 elections.