INEC Removes 1.6 Million Voter Records as 54 Officials Face Investigation

INEC Removes 1.6 Million Voter Records as 54 Officials Face Investigation

Nigeria's electoral commission says biometric screening and public complaints exposed more than 1.6 million invalid registrations, including suspected duplicate entries and manipulated photographs, while 54 personnel across 10 states have been identified for disciplinary action ahead of the 2027 general elections._

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations from its preliminary register of voters after a nationwide review of recon invalid registrations, including suspected duplicate entries collected during the 2025 and 2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercises. The commission has also identified 54 personnel across 10 states for investigation over alleged breaches of registration procedures, with possible prosecution among the sanctions being considered.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, announced the findings on Monday, November 9, during a press briefing in Abuja. He said the review was prompted by complaints about suspicious entries in the preliminary voters’ register, including duplicate registrations, unusual names, manipulated photographs and profiles suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence.

The controversy intensified in October after Nigerians raised questions about images and entries appearing in the register published online on October 26. Some of the photographs circulating on social media appeared artificial or altered, while other records were alleged to belong to deceased persons or individuals registered more than once.

According to Amupitan, INEC harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 exercise. The commission subjected the records to screening through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which initially flagged 1,545,052 entries for further examination.

He cautioned that being flagged by the system did not automatically make a registration invalid. The technology identified records requiring scrutiny, while further verification and authorised adjudication determined which entries should be removed.

Before the preliminary register was published, 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded. The commission subsequently received complaints, claims and objections during the public display of the preliminary register between October 9 and 15.

A further 268,000 cases were reviewed following those complaints. Of these, 217,722 were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared and retained. Additional screening identified another 113,886 invalid registrations.

These findings brought the total number of confirmed invalid registrations removed from the 2025/2026 exercise to 1,608,660. INEC separately removed 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, bringing the combined number of records removed under the two categories to 1,609,533.

The chairman said the investigation had also uncovered instances in which registration personnel deliberately circumvented established procedures. Some allegedly abused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including those involving persons with disabilities.

“Fifty-four persons cutting across 10 states have been identified as complicit,” Amupitan said, adding that disciplinary measures would be taken, including possible prosecution.

The commission said the affected records had been identified and subjected to review, while the personnel connected with the irregularities had been identified for further administrative investigation. It did not announce the names of the individuals or the 10 states involved.

The findings raise questions not only about the latest registration exercise but also about weaknesses inherited from previous voter registration systems. Amupitan acknowledged that many of the duplicate names and suspicious photographs circulating online were linked to records captured between 2011 and 2023.

Nigeria’s national voters’ register has evolved through successive registration exercises, using different technologies and verification procedures. While previous biometric checks had addressed some irregularities, the chairman said significant historical problems remained.

He warned that cleaning the records from the 2025/2026 exercise alone would not resolve all the concerns surrounding the national register. Older duplicate entries could still remain in the system and would require a broader, systematic review.

INEC is also strengthening its registration safeguards. The commission has announced additional biometric capture, authentication and verification measures, including tighter controls over the submission of photographs. It has also approved an artificial intelligence governance framework intended to guide the responsible use of the technology in its operations.

The timing of the clean-up is significant. Nigeria is preparing for its 2027 general elections, with the presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for January 16, followed by governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections on February 6. The credibility of the voters’ register will be central to the administration of those polls.

The commission has said the final reconciliation and quality-assurance process will continue ahead of publication of the final register in December. It has also urged voters who believe their names have disappeared to verify their registration details before concluding that they have been removed.

Amupitan explained that some complaints came from people who had registered in one location between 2011 and 2023, moved elsewhere and registered again instead of formally transferring their existing registration. In such cases, the biometric system invalidated the later registration while the original record remained at the person's previous registration location.

The distinction is important: the removal of a duplicate registration does not necessarily mean that the individual has lost the right to vote. However, affected voters may need to confirm where their valid registration remains and complete the appropriate transfer process.

INEC’s announcement represents a substantial correction of the latest registration data, but it does not settle the wider questions raised by the controversy. The commission must still establish how the irregular entries were introduced, determine individual responsibility and demonstrate that its new safeguards can prevent similar breaches.

For the 2027 elections, the test will extend beyond the number of records removed. Nigerians will need confidence that eligible voters have not been wrongly excluded, that registration officials are held accountable where misconduct is established, and that the final register accurately reflects those entitled to vote.