Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission purged 1,608,660 invalid entries from its voter registry and flagged 54 individuals across ten states for disciplinary measures and potential prosecution over alleged registration tampering.
Additionally, the commission announced that biometric screenings, complaint reviews, and infraction adjudications conducted between 2025 and 2026 led to the removal of 873 verified deceased records, raising the cumulative total of expunged entries under the Continuous Voter Registration program to 1,609,553.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission purged 1,608,660 invalid entries from its voter registry and flagged 54 individuals across ten states for disciplinary measures and potential prosecution over alleged registration tampering.
Additionally, the commission announced that biometric screenings, complaint reviews, and infraction adjudications conducted between 2025 and 2026 led to the removal of 873 verified deceased records, raising the cumulative total of expunged entries under the Continuous Voter Registration program to 1,609,553.
“54 persons cutting across ten states have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them including possible prosecution,” Amupitan declared.
The INEC chairman reported that the commission gathered 11,088,238 registration records across the three phases of the 2025–2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, with the Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagging 1,545,052 of those entries for further scrutiny.
He clarified that records flagged by the automated system were not automatically classified as errors, as they required formal inspection and adjudication before any final determination was made.
According to the chairman, public objections, claims, and complaints raised during the register’s public display triggered the adjudication of 268,000 cases, whereas 1,277,052 registrations were identified as illegitimate and removed before the preliminary register was published.
Out of the 268,000 adjudicated cases, 50,278 records were validated and retained, while 217,722 were ruled invalid and purged.
Backstory…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has come under scrutiny following public outrage over questionable entries discovered in its preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In October 2026, Nigerians raised concerns after suspicious photographs, alleged AI-generated voter profiles, duplicate registrations, unusual names and records of deceased persons appeared on the register published online.
The revelations triggered questions about the commission’s biometric verification procedures and the credibility of the electoral database.
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