INEC Identifies 54 Officials Over Voter Register Irregularities

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified 54 registration officials across 10 states for possible disciplinary action, including prosecution, over irregularities uncovered in the national voters register. INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday, November 9, 2026, while addressing journalists on the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters. The voter register was displayed nationwide between October 9 and 15.

Amupitan said the commission had identified the officials following investigations into suspicious registrations, manipulated photographs, multiple entries and other irregularities discovered during the voter registration exercise. Some registration personnel deliberately circumvented established procedures and abused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including special arrangements for persons with disabilities.

The INEC chairman explained that the commission's technical assessment revealed cases of suspected multiple registrations, substituted photographs and irregularities associated with registration transactions. The affected officials have been identified and will face further administrative investigations, with possible disciplinary measures and prosecution depending on the outcome of the investigations.

INEC had removed 1,609,553 records from the voters register following its nationwide cleaning exercise. The affected records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to persons verified to be deceased. The commission received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

Amupitan noted that the cleaning exercise was necessary following complaints and objections from Nigerians over unusual names, suspicious registration patterns, manipulated photographs and multiple registrations. However, he warned that the exercise covering the 2025/2026 registration alone would not resolve all the integrity concerns surrounding the national voters register.

Several suspected duplicate registrations originated from historical registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023. The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission decided to address the historical irregularities and directed that cases already flagged through public complaints, as well as obvious irregularities identified in the register, should be removed after proper verification.

Amupitan stressed that INEC remained committed to removing invalid entries without wrongfully excluding eligible voters from the electoral process. He assured Nigerians that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and established election-day procedures would provide additional safeguards against multiple accreditation and voting during the 2027 general elections.

Key points

• 54 officials identified for disciplinary action over voter register irregularities.
• INEC removes 1,609,553 records from voters register following nationwide cleaning exercise.
• Commission to address historical irregularities in voter register ahead of 2027 general elections.