The Independent National Electoral Commission has removed 1,608,660 invalid entries from the preliminary register of voters following a nationwide review of registrations recorded during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
The commission also removed 1,749 records belonging to deceased persons after further verification.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the review.
Amupitan said the commission received 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the exercise, adding that its Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 entries for further scrutiny.
He, however, clarified that being flagged by the system did not automatically render a registration invalid, as each case was subjected to additional verification and authorised adjudication.
The exercise followed complaints and objections raised by Nigerians after the preliminary voters’ register was displayed nationwide between October 9 and 15, 2026.
The review was prompted by reported irregularities, including suspected AI-generated photographs, duplicate registrations, unusual names and entries belonging to deceased persons.
The INEC chairman further disclosed that 54 registration officials across 10 states had been identified for possible disciplinary action, including prosecution, over alleged involvement in irregularities discovered during the exercise.
He said the commission would publish the cleaned-up register of voters on December 16, 2026, in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
