*Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Independent National Electoral Commission, disclosed 54 persons across 10 states in Nigeria have been identified as complicit in the reported irregularities, facing disciplinary action, and possible prosecution
Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deleted 1,609,553 records from the national register of voters, following a clean-up of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise in Nigeria.
The INEC said that 54 persons across 10 states of the Federation had been identified as complicit in the irregularities, and face disciplinary action and possible prosecution.
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ConsumerConnect reports Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of INEC, disclosed this Monday, November 9, 2026, at a press conference on the display and publication of the Preliminary Voters Register, at the Commission’s Headquarters, in Abuja, FCT.
Amupitan told reporters the figure comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations, and 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, which were removed as a separate category.
The Chairman of INEC also revealed affirmed the Commission harvested 11,088,238 records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR, and the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 of these for examination.
The INEC Chief, however, cautioned that flagging does not amount to invalidity.
He also stated: “A flagged record is not necessarily an invalid registration: automated screening identifies matters requiring review, while authorised adjudication determines the outcome,” he said.
Insight into register-cleaning exercise for 2025/2026 CVR
Before the Preliminary Register was published, 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded.
The INEC explained that a further 268,000 cases then, went to adjudication, following 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, bringing the post-display removals to 331,608.
Underlining the importance of the efforts, Prof. Amupitan said: “The Commission confirms that the current register-cleaning exercise for the 2025/2026 Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) has been concluded.”
The Chairman further explained the Commission considered the scale of the removals “significant enough to warrant an examination of how it occurred and those responsible for this.”
The technical assessment examined suspected multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and irregularities in registration transactions, and found that some registration personnel acted deliberately, said he.
Amupitan noted: “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.”
The Chairman of INEC confirmed that the affected records had been identified and subjected to review and remediation, and that the personnel involved had been identified for further administrative investigation.
He stated: “Fifty-four persons cutting across 10 States have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them including possible prosecution.”
Measures to prevent re-occurrence
In order 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 the irregularities were intentional, and aimed at compromising the 2027 elections.
On publication of Final Register of Voters
Prof. Amupitan said the Commission waited for the 14-day statutory period under Section 19(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026 to expire before responding.
The Final Register of Voters is scheduled for publication 15 December 2026, and he said final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks remain to ensure the approved changes are reflected.
The Chairman of INEC emphasised that the clean-up did not resolve the wider problem.
Most of the duplicate names and pictures circulating on social media, he said, relate to the old register covering 2011 to 2023.
He stated: “Cleaning the register of only the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise alone will not solve the problem identified.”
Amupitan warned that the final list would still carry over duplications from 2011 to 2023.
He also explained that the current register evolved through successive registration and CVR exercises since 2011, using biometric and demographic data captured under “different technologies, operational arrangements and quality standards.”
“Significant historical integrity questions remain since 2011 and require a national, systematic response,” he noted.
It was gathered that the Commission, at its meeting Monday, November 9, decided to address the duplications in the old register.
Cases already flagged through complaints, along with obvious cases on the register, are to be removed after proper verification.
INEC had announced a nationwide voter revalidation exercise in February 2026, but deferred it until after the elections, following stakeholder concerns about its proximity to the 2027 General Elections and its possible effect on voter participation.
Prof. Amupitan said the postponement “did not suspend the Commission’s existing mechanisms for maintaining the integrity of the Register.”
Amupitan cited biometric screening, adjudication and statutory claims and objections.
Responding to complaints from voters, who said their names were omitted, the Chairman of the Commission said most of those affected registered between 2011 and 2023. Instead of transferring their registration to a new location, they registered again.
ABIS voided those second registrations, but the names remain at their previous locations, and the affected voters were advised to check there.
Distribution of Permanent Voter Cards
In respect of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), Prof. Amupitan said distribution of Phases 1 and 2 and of transferred PVCs was ongoing at LGAs nationwide.
Some cards for the third and final phase are being delivered and will be dispatched to states by next week.
From 1 December, 2026, distribution will return to the Registration Areas.
He appealed for patience from third-phase registrants, noting that the cards are produced outside the country.
The Chairman also assured Nigerians that Election Day safeguards would guard against multiple voting.
Under the Standard Operating Procedures for Presiding Officers, and with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), “every voter” must be physically present at their designated polling unit and pass biometric authentication by fingerprint or facial recognition.
“The Commission remains committed both to removing confirmed invalid entries and to protecting eligible Nigerians from wrongful exclusion,” he said.
Amupitan said that INEC “will continue to communicate verifiable aggregate outcomes while protecting personal information and the integrity of ongoing investigations.”