No fewer than 1.6 million voter registration records have been expunged from Nigeria’s national voters’ register following a nationwide screening exercise by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The exercise exposed cases of multiple registrations, falsified photographs, irregular enrolment procedures and entries belonging to deceased persons, raising concerns about the integrity of the register ahead of the 2027 general elections, The Guardian reported.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced the findings on Monday in Abuja, disclosing that 54 commission personnel in 10 states had also been identified over alleged involvement in registration violations.
The commission’s review showed that 1,277,052 registrations were rejected before the Preliminary Register of Voters was published, while another 331,608 were removed after further investigations into complaints and objections received during the public display of the register. A separate 873 records belonging to verified deceased voters were also deleted.
Amupitan said those implicated in the irregularities would face administrative disciplinary action, with possible prosecution for offences established through investigation. He also disclosed that INEC was introducing additional safeguards, including tighter controls on photograph capture, to prevent the manipulation of voter registration records.
The commission is expected to publish the Final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026, after completing its outstanding verification and quality assurance processes.
