The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 records from the national register of voters after completing a cleaning exercise of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). The Commission has also identified 54 persons across ten states as complicit in the irregularities. Those individuals face disciplinary action and possible prosecution.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced the figures at a press conference on the display and publication of the Preliminary Voters Register. The event took place at the Commission’s headquarters on Monday 9 November 2026.
Professor Amupitan explained that the total comprises 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons. The deceased records were removed as a separate category. The Commission harvested 11,088,238 records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR. The Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 of these records for examination.
He stressed that flagging does not automatically mean 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 after 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. This brought the removals after the display to 331,608.
“The Commission confirms that the current register cleaning exercise for the 2025/2026 Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) has been concluded,” Professor Amupitan said.
He described the scale of the removals as significant enough to warrant an examination of how the irregularities occurred and who was responsible. The technical assessment examined suspected multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and irregularities in registration transactions. It 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.
The affected records have been identified and subjected to review and remediation. The personnel involved have 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,” Professor Amupitan 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 that the irregularities were intentional and aimed at compromising the 2027 elections.
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By A. Ikechukwu
