INEC Removes Over 1.6 Million Invalid Names From Voter Register

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 records from Nigeria’s national voters’ register following a nationwide clean-up exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission disclosed that the affected records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid voter registrations and 873 entries belonging to persons verified to be dead.

INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, announced the development on Monday, November 9, 2026, while briefing journalists in Abuja on the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters.

According to POLITICS NIGERIA, the exercise followed complaints, claims and objections submitted by Nigerians after the preliminary register was displayed nationwide between October 9 and 15, 2026.

The publication had attracted criticism over suspected duplicate registrations, unusual names, photographs believed to have been generated using artificial intelligence and entries belonging to deceased persons.

How INEC removed 1.6 million records

Providing details of the exercise, Amupitan said INEC received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

The commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination.

However, the chairman clarified that being flagged by the system did not automatically mean a registration was invalid, as each case had to undergo further examination and authorised adjudication.

According to POLITICS NIGERIA, 1,277,052 registrations were confirmed invalid and excluded before the publication of the preliminary register.

Following the public display, another 268,000 cases underwent adjudication. Of these, 217,722 were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared and retained.

The commission also identified another 113,886 invalid registrations during further screening.

This brought the additional invalid registrations identified during the review to 331,608. When combined with the 1,277,052 previously excluded records, the total number of invalid registrations removed stood at 1,608,660.

The removal of 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons brought the overall number of deleted records to 1,609,553.

54 INEC officials face possible sanctions

Beyond the removal of invalid records, INEC disclosed that it had identified 54 registration officials across 10 states for possible disciplinary action over their alleged involvement in registration irregularities.

The officials were reportedly linked to suspicious multiple registrations, substituted photographs and other violations of established registration procedures.

Amupitan said some personnel allegedly abused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including special arrangements for persons with disabilities who have incomplete or missing fingers.

POLITICS NIGERIA reported that the affected personnel had been identified for further administrative investigations, with possible disciplinary measures and prosecution depending on the outcome.

The commission also said it was strengthening its registration controls through improved biometric capture, authentication and verification procedures to prevent a recurrence.

Historical voter records also under scrutiny

The INEC chairman warned that the clean-up of records from the 2025/2026 registration exercise would not resolve all concerns surrounding the national voters’ register.

He explained that several suspected duplicate registrations originated from earlier registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023.

According to POLITICS NIGERIA, Amupitan said many of the duplicated names and photographs circulated on social media during the controversy were connected to the historical register rather than the latest registration exercise.

The commission, at its meeting on Monday, November 9, therefore decided to address the historical irregularities.

It directed that cases already flagged through public complaints, as well as obvious irregularities identified in the register, should be removed after proper verification.

INEC had earlier announced plans for a nationwide voter revalidation exercise in February 2026 but postponed it following concerns that the exercise could disenfranchise eligible voters because of its proximity to the 2027 general elections.

Amupitan stressed that the postponement did not suspend other measures for protecting the integrity of the register, including biometric screening, adjudication and statutory claims and objections.