INEC Removes 1.6 Million Invalid Registrations and Flags 54 Officials
ABUJA — The Independent National Electoral Commission says it has completed a major clean-up of records produced during the 2025–2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise, removing 1,608,660 registrations it confirmed as invalid.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan announced the figures at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, 9 November 2026. He said 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons were removed separately.
The commission also identified 54 people across ten states whom it considers potentially complicit in registration irregularities. According to Amupitan, the affected personnel face administrative investigation, disciplinary action and possible prosecution. That wording is important: the individuals have been identified for further action, but the commission has not said they have been convicted of an offence.
How the records were reviewed
INEC said it collected 11,088,238 records during the three phases of the registration exercise. Its Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 records for examination. A flag alone did not mean a registration was invalid; authorised officers reviewed the records before determining which entries should be excluded.
Before the preliminary register was published, 1,277,052 registrations were confirmed invalid. Complaints and objections submitted during the public display prompted another review, after which 217,722 additional records were removed and 50,278 were retained as valid. Further screening identified 113,886 more invalid entries.
Several reports quote INEC as giving a combined removal total of 1,609,553. However, the two component figures publicly stated by the commission—1,608,660 invalid registrations and 873 deceased-voter records—add up to 1,609,533. MBTV is therefore reporting the component figures separately until INEC clarifies the 20-record discrepancy.
Why the exercise matters
The clean-up followed public complaints about apparent duplicate registrations, substituted or artificial photographs, unusual names and deceased people appearing in the preliminary register. INEC says it is strengthening biometric capture, authentication and verification controls to reduce a recurrence.
The final register is expected after reconciliation and quality-assurance checks. Voters should rely on INEC’s official channels to confirm registration status and report errors.
Sources: TheCable report of the INEC briefing; Premium Times report; INEC press releases.
Featured image: illustrative photograph by David Rotimi via Unsplash. It is not a photograph of the registration review described in this report.
