INEC Identifies 54 Suspects in Voter Registration Scandal, Removes 1.6m Invalid Records

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified 54 individuals across 10 states allegedly involved in manipulating voter registration procedures, following investigations into irregularities discovered in the preliminary national register of voters.

INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday during a press conference in Abuja, explaining that a technical assessment of the register uncovered deliberate violations of established registration procedures by some personnel.

According to Amupitan, the investigation revealed cases involving the abuse of provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including special arrangements for persons with disabilities.

He said the 54 individuals had been identified for further administrative investigation, with possible prosecution among the disciplinary measures being considered.

“Fifty-four persons cutting across 10 states have been identified as complicit, and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them, including possible prosecution,” the chairman said.

Amupitan explained that the technical assessment examined suspected multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and irregularities involving registration transactions.

He added that the affected records had been identified, reviewed and corrected, while INEC was strengthening its registration procedures through improved biometric capture, authentication and verification systems to prevent future manipulation.

The investigation followed public complaints about irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register displayed at registration areas between October 9 and 15, 2026, before its subsequent online publication on October 26.

Several Nigerians had raised concerns over suspicious profiles appearing in the register, including unusual names, photographs suspected to have been artificially generated or manipulated, multiple registrations and records of deceased persons.

Amupitan also disclosed that INEC had removed 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations from the preliminary register generated through the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

According to him, the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 records out of the 11,088,238 registrations collected across the three phases of the exercise for further examination.

Following additional public complaints, INEC reviewed 268,000 records. Of these, 217,722 were invalidated, while 50,278 were cleared and retained in the register.

The chairman said the commission’s meeting on November 9 directed that records already identified through public complaints, alongside obvious cases of irregularities, should be removed after appropriate verification.

He further explained that many of the duplicated registrations and suspicious photographs circulating on social media were associated with registration exercises conducted between 2011 and 2023 rather than the latest registration exercise.

According to him, Nigeria’s national voters’ register has undergone several updates since 2011, involving different technologies, operational procedures and quality-control standards.

INEC said it would continue examining historical irregularities and strengthening its verification systems to protect the credibility of the national voters’ register ahead of future elections.