INEC removes 1.6m invalid voter records, identifies 54 staff for disciplinary action

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the removal of over 1.6 million invalid and deceased records from the national voter register. Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, November 9, 2026, INEC head Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, revealed that the body had pinpointed 54 people in 10 states who participated in fraudulent activities. Amupitan stated that disciplinary measures, including possible prosecution, would be taken against these individuals. The identified staff were implicated in multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, and the substitution of photographs.

According to the INEC Chairman, the commission successfully removed 1,609,553 records from the system. This figure comprises 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 verified records belonging to deceased voters. While one source cited the removal of 876 deceased records initially, with 873 additional ones identified later for a total of 1,749, the Chairman’s direct statement at the press conference specified 873 verified deceased-voter records as part of the 1.6 million total purge. Prior to this audit, the electoral body had obtained 11,088,238 entries from the three stages of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration process.

Background

The current National Register of Voters has evolved through successive registration and CVR exercises since 2011. According to Professor Amupitan, the database holds biometric and demographic information gathered using various technologies, operational setups, and quality benchmarks over time. Despite previous efforts to clean the data and compare biometric details, serious concerns regarding the historical accuracy of the register persist. INEC’s Automated Biometric Identification System flagged numerous anomalies during the preliminary display of the 2025-2026 CVR exercise. The Chairman pointed out that deleting the 331,608 flawed records found during the initial review would not solve the issue entirely, since the final list might still hold duplicate entries inherited from earlier drives between 2011 and 2023. The majority of duplicate names and images shared online stemmed from grievances about the previous voter list, not the recently finished registration campaign. The commission resolved to address these identified duplications in the previous register by subjecting flagged records to proper verification before removal.

Why it matters

The integrity of the voter register is critical for the credibility of the upcoming 2027 general elections. The widespread public outcry and intense scrutiny following the discovery of irregularities prompted this sweeping clean-up. The discovery of these anomalies prompts valid inquiries into their origin, to which INEC replied that it has conducted evidence-based probes, finished necessary corrections, and implemented more robust preventive measures. The commission aims to ensure the credibility and integrity of the national voter register. Additionally, the situation affects the 2,970,257 individuals who registered in the third phase of the CVR exercise before the de-duplication protocol. These voters are currently awaiting their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), a delay attributed to the production process being conducted outside the country.

What happens next

INEC has outlined a timeline for the distribution of the remaining voter cards. The distribution of PVCs for Phases 1 and 2, as well as transferred PVCs, is ongoing at various Local Government Assemblies (LGAs) across Nigeria. Permanent Voter Cards for the third and concluding phase are currently being distributed and are scheduled to reach the states by the next week. From December 1, 2026, distribution will resume at Registration Centres all over Nigeria. The INEC Chairman appealed to those who registered in the third phase to exercise patience. The commission declared that it will keep sharing verifiable overall results while safeguarding individual data and the confidentiality of investigations concerning the 54 identified persons.