The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 invalid registrations from the Preliminary Register of Voters and identified 54 registration personnel across 10 states for disciplinary action, including possible prosecution.
The Chairman of the Commission, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Monday at a press conference in Abuja on the display and publication of the Preliminary Register of Voters.
Amupitan said the Commission received several claims, objections and complaints in respect of the display of the Preliminary Register at Ward level between October 9 and 15, 2026, and its subsequent publication online.
He explained that the current National Register of Voters evolved through successive registration and Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercises since 2011, and therefore contains biometric and demographic data captured under different technologies, operational arrangements and quality standards.
Although the register had undergone cleansing and biometric comparison at different points, he said significant historical integrity questions remain since 2011 and require a national, systematic response.
Pursuant to Section 19(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the Commission is required to accept and consider objections, claims and complaints raised by the public to the Preliminary Register within 14 days after displaying the register.
After verifying the objections, the Commission is expected to take corrective action and ensure that the register is cleaned up ahead of the publication of the Final Register, fixed for December 15, 2026.
Amupitan said the display and online publication of the 2026 Preliminary Register brought additional public attention, comments and criticisms to apparently artificial or manipulated photographs, duplicate registration attempts, unusual names and registration patterns, and reports of deceased persons remaining on the register.
Some, he noted, even alleged that those irregularities were intentional, aimed at compromising the 2027 election.
Since the complaints were raised within the 14-day statutory window, the Commission waited for the expiration of the statutory period to consider the report of the review before responding to the concerns and to also identify those responsible for the infractions.
The cleaning exercise aimed at addressing the irregularities observed in the 2025/2026 CVR exercise has now been concluded.
The Commission harvested 11,088,238 records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR exercise.
Of these, the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 for examination. Amupitan stressed that a flagged record is not necessarily an invalid registration, as automated screening identifies matters requiring review, while authorised adjudication determines the outcome.
Consequently, before publication of the Preliminary Register, 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded.
After the display, a further 268,000 cases underwent adjudication. Of these, 217,722 were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared as valid and retained.
Additional screening subsequently identified 113,886 further invalid registrations, which were also removed.
The cumulative total of confirmed invalid registrations removed after the objections, claims and complaints is 331,608, in addition to 873 separately verified deceased voters’ records.
This brings the total clean-up to 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations, plus 873 deceased voters’ records, making a combined total of 1,609,553 records removed.
Final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks remain to ensure that approved changes are accurately reflected in the final register.
Amupitan said the Commission considers the 1,609,553 figure significant enough to warrant an examination of how it occurred and those responsible.
The technical assessment examined suspected multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and irregularities associated with registration transactions.
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 affected records have been identified and subjected to the appropriate review and remediation processes, while the associated personnel have been identified for further administrative investigation,” he said.
To prevent recurrence, the Commission is strengthening its registration controls with enhanced biometric capture, authentication and verification safeguards.
“Fifty-four persons cutting across ten states have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them including possible prosecution,” Amupitan said.
Cleaning the register of only the 2025/2026 CVR exercise alone, he said, will not solve the problem identified.
Even with the removal of 331,608 found to be irregular in the Preliminary Register for 2025/2026, the final list will still carry over the duplications of 2011-2023.
Most of the duplication of names and pictures circulated on social media were complaints in respect of the old register of 2011-2023.
The Commission at its meeting of Monday, November 9, 2026, decided to address those duplications found in the old register and directed that already flagged cases as a result of complaints received and obvious cases on the register should be removed after proper verification.
On complaints of omission of names, Amupitan said most of the complaints were from voters who registered between 2011 and 2023.
Instead of transferring their registration to their new location, they decided to re-register again. Those second registrations were voided by ABIS, but their names are still contained in their previous location. They were accordingly advised to check their previous locations.
On PVC distribution, the Chairman said distribution of Phases 1 and 2 of the PVC and transferred PVCs is ongoing at the various LGAs in Nigeria.
Some of the PVCs for the third and final phase are being delivered and they would be dispatched to the states by next week.
Meanwhile, as from December 1, 2026, distribution will go back to the Registration Areas all over Nigeria.
He appealed to those that registered in the third phase to be a little bit patient since the production is done outside the country.
The Commission remains committed both to removing confirmed invalid entries and to protecting eligible Nigerians from wrongful exclusion.
Amupitan emphasised that the Commission has additional safeguards in place on Election Day to prevent multiple accreditation and voting.
The Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Presiding Officers, together with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), require every voter to be physically present at their designated Polling Unit and undergo biometric authentication using either fingerprints or facial recognition.
The accreditation process verifies the voter’s identity against the register and records successful accreditation, with controls designed to prevent the same voter from being accredited more than once.
These measures, alongside the prescribed procedures for issuing ballot papers, provide an additional layer of protection against multiple voting.
Amupitan recalled that in February 2026, the Commission announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise as part of its broader efforts to further strengthen the accuracy, quality and reliability of the register, particularly in relation to historical records captured using earlier generations of registration technology.
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However, following concerns expressed by stakeholders about the proximity of the exercise to the 2027 General Elections and its potential impact on participation, the Commission decided to defer the exercise until after the elections.
He stressed that the postponement did not suspend the Commission’s existing mechanisms for maintaining the integrity of the Register.
The Courier News reports the Chairman as saying “Biometric screening, adjudication, statutory claims and objections, and other established verification procedures remain integral to the preparation of the Final Register of Voters,”.
In conclusion, Amupitan said the detection of irregularities raises legitimate questions about how they arose, and the response is evidence-led investigation, completed corrective action and stronger preventive controls.
