INEC to investigate 54 officials over voter registration irregularities

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced moves to investigate 54 registration officials from 10 states over alleged electoral registration offences, following a nationwide exercise that uncovered more than 1.6 million invalid voter records.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while addressing journalists on the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters.

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Amupitan said the Commission had removed 1,609,553 invalid records from the register as part of efforts to strengthen its credibility ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He explained that the investigation followed complaints and objections submitted by Nigerians after the Preliminary Register was displayed at ward levels between October 9 and 15, 2026.

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The 14-day statutory period for public scrutiny brought several suspected irregularities to the attention of the Commission, including multiple registrations, altered photographs, suspicious registration patterns and records belonging to deceased persons.

According to the INEC chairman, the Commission subjected questionable entries to biometric checks and further verification before determining which registrations should be retained or expunged.

Providing details of the exercise, Amupitan said INEC received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

He said the Automated Biometric Identification System initially identified 1,545,052 records requiring further examination, stressing that automated identification alone was not sufficient grounds for declaring a registration invalid.

The Commission subsequently confirmed 1,277,052 registrations as invalid and removed them before publishing the Preliminary Register.

A further review following the public display led to the examination of 268,000 cases. Of these, 217,722 were invalidated, while 50,278 were cleared and retained.

Amupitan added that another screening exercise identified 113,886 additional invalid registrations.

He said the overall number of invalid records removed after the claims and objections process stood at 331,608, alongside 873 records of deceased voters that were independently verified.

When added to the 1,277,052 registrations previously expunged, the figure brought the total number of invalid records removed to 1,609,553.

The chairman said investigations into the irregularities also revealed possible breaches of established registration procedures by some personnel.

He explained that certain officials allegedly manipulated registration processes, including misusing provisions intended to facilitate registration for persons with disabilities and other exceptional circumstances.

Amupitan said the Commission had identified 54 personnel across 10 states allegedly connected to the violations and would subject them to disciplinary procedures.

“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.

Beyond the latest registration exercise, the INEC chairman acknowledged that the national voter register still contained historical integrity challenges arising from registration activities conducted between 2011 and 2023.

He noted that some of the questionable names and photographs circulating on social media were inherited from previous registration exercises and were not necessarily products of the 2025/2026 exercise.

Consequently, the Commission resolved at its meeting on November 9 to extend its verification exercise to older records, including previously flagged entries and cases involving obvious irregularities.

On reports by some voters who could not locate their names at their present places of residence, Amupitan attributed the problem largely to failure to complete the formal transfer of voter registration after relocation.

He explained that some Nigerians who moved to new locations registered afresh instead of transferring their existing records. Such new registrations were subsequently invalidated by the biometric system, leaving their original details at their former polling units.

He advised affected voters to check their previous registration locations to establish whether their details remained on the register.

On Permanent Voter Card distribution, the INEC chairman said collection of cards from the first and second phases of the registration exercise, as well as transferred PVCs, was continuing at Local Government Areas nationwide.

He said cards produced under the third phase were being delivered and would be dispatched to states the following week.

According to him, distribution would return to Registration Areas across the country from December 1, 2026.

Amupitan also assured Nigerians that INEC was strengthening its safeguards against multiple accreditation and voting during the 2027 elections.

He said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, alongside the Commission’s operational guidelines, requires voters to undergo biometric authentication at their designated polling units using fingerprints or facial recognition.

The chairman further recalled that INEC had earlier announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise in February 2026 to address historical inconsistencies in the register.

However, he said the exercise was deferred until after the 2027 general elections following concerns from stakeholders that conducting it so close to the polls could affect voter participation.

He maintained that the postponement had not stopped the Commission from carrying out routine verification and other measures to protect the integrity of the register.

INEC, he said, remained committed to removing invalid registrations while ensuring that eligible voters were not disenfranchised.

The Commission is expected to publish the Final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026, after completing its reconciliation and quality assurance processes.

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