Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission removed 1,608,660 invalid voter entries after a nationwide review of registrations, while 54 officials were identified for possible discipline, BusinessDay reported Monday.
INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan said the exercise covered 11,088,238 records submitted in three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration drive. The commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System sent 1,545,052 records for closer checks. Amupitan said an automated alert did not by itself disqualify a registration; each case went through additional review and authorized adjudication.
Amupitan said 54 registration officials from 10 states could face disciplinary measures, including prosecution, if investigations establish their culpability. The commission also removed 1,749 entries for deceased people. It said 876 records had been verified and 873 more were identified during the review.
Public objections followed a nationwide display of the preliminary register from Oct. 9-15. Concerns included repeat registrations, names viewed as unusual, entries for deceased people and photographs suspected of being AI-generated. Some disputed images circulated on social media.
BusinessDay reported that INEC plans to publish the cleaned register Dec. 16, 2026, ahead of elections scheduled for Jan. 16 and Feb. 6, 2027. Earlier EconoTimes coverage of INEC’s online voter register cited Dec. 15 as the publication date for the final register.
