INEC Removes 1.6m Names From Voters’ Register, Identifies 54 Complicit Staff

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 invalid records from the national register of voters and identified 54 staff members across 10 states allegedly involved in registration irregularities.

The commission also warned that the affected personnel could face disciplinary action and prosecution, following investigations into irregularities uncovered during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday at a press conference at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

He explained that the figure comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons.

According to him, the commission harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the exercise, while its Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination.
Amupitan, however, cautioned that being flagged did not automatically make a registration invalid.

“A flagged record is not necessarily an invalid registration: automated screening identifies matters requiring review, while authorised adjudication determines the outcome,” he said.

He disclosed that 1,277,052 registrations were initially confirmed invalid and excluded before the preliminary register was published.

Following complaints and objections during the public display, another 268,000 cases underwent adjudication. Of these, 217,722 were invalidated, while 50,278 were cleared and retained.

Additional screening subsequently identified 113,886 invalid registrations, bringing post-display removals to 331,608.

The INEC chairman said investigations revealed deliberate attempts by some registration personnel to circumvent established procedures.

“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 54 persons had been identified as complicit, warning that necessary disciplinary measures would be taken, including possible prosecution.

On further safeguards, Amupitan announced that INEC had banned the use of web cameras for voter registration and directed its ICT department to adopt an application-based camera system to prevent external photographs from being imported into registration records.

He also announced the commission’s approval of a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence governance framework developed with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the UK High Commission.

Meanwhile, INEC said it would begin addressing historical duplications in the voters’ register dating back to 2011, noting that cleaning the latest registration exercise alone would not resolve the problem.

The final register is scheduled for publication on December 15, 2026.