INEC Removes 1.6m Invalid Voter Records, Identifies 54 Suspects In 10 States

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the removal of 1,609,553 records from the Preliminary Register of Voters following a nationwide review that uncovered multiple registrations, manipulated photographs, irregular registration patterns and records of deceased persons.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday while addressing journalists on the outcome of the review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and complaints arising from the display of the Preliminary Register of Voters.

He said the figure comprises 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased voters.

The commission also disclosed that 54 persons across 10 states had been identified for allegedly circumventing established registration procedures, adding that disciplinary measures, including possible prosecution, would be considered.

Amupitan explained that the commission received complaints and objections following the display of the Preliminary Register at registration areas nationwide between October 9 and 15, 2026, as well as its subsequent online publication.

He said the complaints prompted further biometric screening and adjudication, leading to the removal of additional records found to be invalid.

According to him, INEC harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR exercise, out of which its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 for further examination.

He clarified that being flagged by the system did not automatically make a registration invalid, as each case was subjected to further review and adjudication.

Before the publication of the Preliminary Register, 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded.

Following the statutory claims and objections process, another 268,000 cases were reviewed. Of these, 217,722 were invalidated and removed, while 50,278 were cleared and retained.

An additional 113,886 invalid registrations were subsequently identified and removed, bringing the total number of invalid registrations removed after the complaints process to 331,608.

The commission said the exercise had been concluded, although final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks would continue ahead of the release of the Final Register on December 15, 2026.

Amupitan, however, warned that the clean up of the 2025/2026 registration exercise alone would not resolve all the irregularities identified in the national voter register.

He said many of the multiple registrations and duplicate photographs circulated on social media originated from historical records captured between 2011 and 2023.

According to him, the commission, at its meeting on November 9, 2026, resolved to address the historical duplications, directing that previously flagged and obvious cases should be removed after proper verification.

The INEC chairman recalled that the commission had proposed a nationwide voter revalidation exercise in February 2026 to address inconsistencies in older records and improve the accuracy of the register.

However, the exercise was postponed following concerns from stakeholders about its proximity to the 2027 general elections and the possibility of disenfranchising eligible voters.

He stressed that the postponement did not suspend existing verification mechanisms, including biometric screening, adjudication and statutory claims and objections.

On complaints by some voters that their names were missing from the Preliminary Register, Amupitan said investigations showed that many affected persons had registered between 2011 and 2023.

He explained that some voters who relocated to new areas re-registered instead of transferring their existing registration.

Such subsequent registrations were flagged and invalidated by the biometric system, while their original registrations remained in their previous locations.

He therefore advised affected voters to check the register at their former locations.

The commission also announced that the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from the first and second phases of the registration exercise, including transferred cards, was ongoing at local government areas nationwide.

Amupitan said some PVCs from the third and final phase were being delivered and would be dispatched to states the following week.

He added that distribution would return to registration areas across the country from December 1, 2026, urging those who registered during the third phase to exercise patience as the cards were being produced outside Nigeria.

The INEC chairman assured Nigerians that additional safeguards would be deployed on election day to prevent multiple accreditation and voting.

He said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the commission’s Standard Operating Procedures require voters to be physically present at their designated polling units and undergo biometric authentication through fingerprint or facial recognition.

According to him, the process verifies voters’ identities against the register and records successful accreditation, with safeguards designed to prevent multiple accreditation by the same voter.

Amupitan maintained that INEC remained committed to removing invalid registrations without wrongfully excluding eligible voters, adding that the commission would continue to publish verifiable information on the clean up exercise while protecting personal data and ongoing investigations.

The Final Register of Voters is scheduled for publication on December 15, 2026.