The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations from Nigeria’s voter register and identified 54 registration officials across 10 states for possible disciplinary action over irregularities uncovered during the exercise.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday, November 9, 2026, while presenting the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters in Abuja ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission said the affected officials were identified following investigations into suspicious registration activities, including multiple entries, substituted photographs and unusual registration patterns.

Amupitan explained that some registration personnel allegedly bypassed established procedures and misused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration arrangements, including those for persons with disabilities.

He said the commission would take administrative disciplinary measures against personnel found culpable, with possible prosecution depending on the outcome of investigations.

Providing details of the clean-up, the INEC chairman said the commission received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

Its Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further scrutiny. However, the chairman stressed that being flagged did not automatically invalidate a registration, as each case underwent additional verification.

A total of 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded before the preliminary register was displayed to the public.

Following the nationwide display between October 9 and 15, INEC reviewed additional complaints and objections, confirming more questionable entries for removal.

The commission also removed 873 records belonging to verified deceased voters, bringing the combined number of deleted records to 1,609,553.

Amupitan, however, cautioned that the latest exercise did not resolve all concerns surrounding the national voter register, noting that some suspected duplicate entries originated from earlier registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023.

He said INEC had directed further action on historical irregularities identified through public complaints and its internal screening processes.

The commission is strengthening its biometric verification and registration safeguards to prevent similar incidents and protect the integrity of future elections.

INEC said reconciliation and quality assurance processes were ongoing, with the final cleaned-up voter register scheduled for publication on December 15, 2026.