The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 records from the national register of voters following a nationwide review that uncovered invalid registrations, multiple entries and records belonging to deceased persons ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday, November 9, 2026, during a press briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
He explained that the deleted records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid voter registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons.
Amupitan said the exercise followed public complaints, claims and objections raised after the preliminary register of voters was displayed at registration centres nationwide between October 9 and 15, 2026, and subsequently published online.
According to him, the commission received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
He said INEC’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination, stressing that being flagged did not automatically mean a registration was invalid.
The chairman disclosed that 1,277,052 registrations were confirmed invalid and excluded before the publication of the preliminary register.
Following complaints and objections from members of the public, another 268,000 cases were subjected to further scrutiny. Of these, 217,722 were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared and retained.
He added that subsequent screening identified another 113,886 invalid registrations, bringing the total number of invalid registrations removed to 1,608,660.
The commission also confirmed the removal of 873 records belonging to deceased voters, bringing the combined number of deleted records to 1,609,553.
Beyond the removal of invalid records, the INEC chairman disclosed that 54 registration officials across 10 states had been identified for alleged involvement in irregularities during the registration exercise.
He said investigations revealed that some personnel deliberately circumvented established registration procedures and abused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including those involving persons with disabilities.
According to him, the affected records had been identified and subjected to appropriate review, while the officials involved would face administrative disciplinary measures, including possible prosecution.
Amupitan said the commission was strengthening its registration procedures through improved biometric capture, authentication and verification mechanisms to prevent a recurrence.
The chairman also warned that cleaning up the 2025/2026 registration exercise alone would not completely address the integrity challenges associated with the national register of voters.
He explained that some duplicate names and suspicious photographs circulating on social media were linked to previous registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023.
He noted that the national register had evolved through successive registration exercises using different technologies and operational standards, creating the need for a broader examination of historical records.
INEC said final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks were ongoing ahead of the release of the final register of voters scheduled for December 15, 2026.
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