Prof. Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has identified 54 officials across 10 states over thier involvement in irregularities during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
Amupitan made the disclosure on Monday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of the commission’s review of the preliminary register of voters.
He said some registration personnel deliberately disregarded established procedures and manipulated provisions intended to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including the registration of persons with disabilities.
According to the chairman, the commission has identified the officials allegedly connected to the irregularities and will subject them to further administrative proceedings. Those found responsible could face disciplinary sanctions or prosecution.
“Fifty-four persons cutting across 10 states have been identified as complicit, and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them, including possible prosecution,” Amupitan said.
The announcement follows public concerns over the credibility of the preliminary voter register, particularly after Nigerians spotted questionable entries during its nationwide display from October 9 to 15, 2026.
The complaints ranged from suspected multiple registrations and unusual names to photographs believed to have been generated using artificial intelligence. Records of deceased persons were also among the entries that attracted attention.
Images of some disputed registrations circulated widely on social media, raising questions about how questionable records had passed through the registration process and made their way into the preliminary register.
INEC subsequently subjected the entries to further checks, using its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to detect possible duplicates and other irregularities. Cases flagged by the system were then examined through an adjudication process before decisions were made on their validity.
Amupitan disclosed that the commission received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR exercise. The initial biometric screening flagged 1,545,052 entries for further examination.
He was, however, careful to distinguish between records flagged by the automated system and registrations eventually confirmed to be invalid.
According to him, “the system only identifies entries requiring closer scrutiny as it does not independently determine whether a voter registration should be cancelled. That decision is reached after further examination and authorised adjudication.”
“Following the exercise, INEC confirmed and removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations. Another 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons were deleted separately, bringing the total number of removed records to 1,609,553.
Amupitan said the clean-up had been concluded, adding that the commission was taking steps to prevent similar incidents in future registration exercises.
“Among the measures being strengthened are biometric data capture, authentication and verification procedures. The commission also intends to tighten controls around registration processes that allow exceptions under specific circumstances,” he said.
The chairman also addressed complaints from voters who were unable to locate their names at their current registration centres. He attributed many of the cases to people who had registered in previous years but later completed fresh registrations after relocating, rather than applying to transfer their existing voter records.
Amupitan said most of the affected voters had initially registered between 2011 and 2023. Their subsequent registrations were flagged and invalidated by ABIS, while their original records remained in the locations where they first registered.
He urged such voters to check their former registration locations rather than assume their names had been completely removed from the register.
The commission noted that it will publish the cleaned-up register on December 16, 2026.