INEC Expunges 1.6m Voter Records, Identifies 54 Officials Over Fraud
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 invalid records from the national voter register ahead of the 2027 general elections, following an audit that uncovered fraudulent registrations, duplicate entries and other irregularities.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja, saying the exercise followed complaints and scrutiny of the preliminary voter register displayed between October 9 and 15, 2026.
He said the deleted records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 verified records of deceased voters.
Amupitan attributed the discoveries to a technical audit conducted using the Automated Biometric Identification System, which identified unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and fraudulent multiple registrations.
The commission also identified 54 staff members across 10 states allegedly involved in manipulating registration procedures and abusing special provisions designed to assist vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities.
The INEC chairman said disciplinary measures and possible prosecution had been initiated against the affected personnel.
He assured Nigerians that the commission would continue investigating irregularities and strengthening its internal controls ahead of the 2027 elections.
On the delay in distributing Permanent Voter Cards to Nigerians registered during the third phase of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise, Amupitan attributed the development to delays in overseas production and delivery.
He said some of the cards were still being delivered from outside the country and would be dispatched to states from the following week.
According to him, distribution of PVCs for the first and second phases, alongside transferred voter cards, was ongoing at various local government areas.
“The 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,” he said.
He added that distribution would resume at Registration Areas nationwide from December 1, 2026.
INEC disclosed that 2,970,257 Nigerians registered during the third phase before the commission’s de-duplication exercise.
Amupitan also revealed that the commission was reviewing legacy voter records from previous registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023 to identify and remove duplicate entries.
He said INEC’s board had directed that flagged records be expunged after proper verification.
On the leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress, the chairman said the commission would not take a position until it received the Certified True Copy of the relevant court judgment.
“On ADC/Atiku: as of today, we have not received the Certified True Copy of the court judgment and we don’t act based on what we see on social media,” he said.
Amupitan further said the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System would remain central to preventing multiple voting and unauthorised accreditation, with fingerprint or facial recognition required to authenticate voters physically present at polling units.
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