The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 records from the national voter register after cleaning up the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
The commission also said it identified 54 persons across ten states as complicit in the irregularities, who face disciplinary action and possible prosecution.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this at a press conference on the display and publication of the preliminary register held at the commission’s headquarters on Monday.
Mr Amupitan said the figure comprises 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, which were removed as a separate category.
He said 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.
He cautioned that flagging does not equal invalidity.
“A flagged record is not necessarily an invalid registration: automated screening identifies matters requiring review, while authorised adjudication determines the outcome,” he said.
Before the preliminary register was published, he said 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded.
“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.
“The commission confirms that the current register-cleaning exercise for the 2025/2026 Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) has been concluded,” Mr Amupitan said.
Officials deliberately circumvented procedures
He said the commission considered the scale of the removals significant enough to warrant an examination of how it occurred and those responsible.
According to him, 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.
“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,” he said.
He added 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.
“Fifty-four persons cutting across ten States have been identified as complicit, and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them, including possible prosecution,” he stated.
To prevent a recurrence, he noted that the commission is strengthening its registration controls with enhanced biometric capture, authentication and verification safeguards.
Public complaints triggered clean-up
The commission said 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,” he said.
Mr Amupitan said the commission waited for the 14-day statutory period under Section 19(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026 to expire before responding, noting that the final register of voters is scheduled for publication on 15 December.
He added that the final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks remain to ensure the approved changes are reflected.
Old register still a problem
However, he stressed that the clean-up does 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.
“Cleaning the register of only the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise alone will not solve the problem identified,” he said, warning that the final list would still carry over duplications from 2011 to 2023.
He 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.
He added that significant historical integrity questions remain since 2011 and require a national, systematic response.
The commission, at its meeting on Monday, 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.
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Mr Amupitan said the postponement did not suspend the Commission’s existing mechanisms for maintaining the integrity of the Register, citing biometric screening, adjudication and statutory claims and objections.
Missing names, PVCs
Responding to complaints from voters who said their names were omitted, he 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.”
On Permanent Voter Cards, Mr Amupitan said distribution of Phases 1 and 2 and of transferred PVCs is ongoing at LGAs nationwide.
He added that 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,” he said.
He further 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, adding that INEC will continue to communicate verifiable aggregate outcomes while protecting personal information and the integrity of ongoing investigations.
