The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the removal of 1,609,553 records from the national voters register following an extensive review of irregularities discovered during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

According to a statement delivered by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, at a press conference on Sunday, November 8, 2026, the commission removed 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and an additional 873 records belonging to verified deceased voters.

The announcement comes amid growing public concerns over alleged multiple voter registrations, suspicious photographs, unusual names and other irregularities identified following the display of the Preliminary Register of Voters across the country.

INEC said the complaints emerged after the preliminary register was displayed at registration wards between October 9 and 15, 2026, and subsequently published online for public scrutiny.

The commission explained that the exercise was part of its statutory responsibility under Section 19(2) of the Electoral Act 2026, which allows members of the public to submit claims, objections and complaints within 14 days after the preliminary register is displayed.

Amupitan said the commission waited until the expiration of the statutory period to assess the complaints, investigate the reported irregularities and determine the appropriate corrective measures.

He noted that the current national voters register contains records accumulated through successive registration exercises and Continuous Voter Registration programmes dating back to 2011.

According to the INEC chairman, differences in the technologies, operational arrangements and quality standards used during previous registration exercises have created historical integrity challenges that require systematic attention.

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The commission disclosed that it initially harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR exercise.

Following biometric screening through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), 1,545,052 records were flagged for further examination.

However, INEC clarified that being flagged by the automated system did not automatically mean that a registration was invalid, explaining that each case required further examination and authorised adjudication.

Before the publication of the Preliminary Register, the commission had already confirmed 1,277,052 registrations as invalid and excluded them from the register.

Following the public display and receipt of complaints, INEC subjected another 268,000 cases to adjudication.

Of that number, 217,722 registrations were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared as valid and retained in the register.

The commission subsequently identified another 113,886 invalid registrations through additional screening.

INEC said the combined 331,608 invalid registrations removed after the public display, together with the earlier 1,277,052 exclusions, brought the total number of confirmed invalid registrations to 1,608,660.

When the 873 verified deceased voters' records were added, the total number of records removed from the register stood at 1,609,553.

Amupitan described the findings as significant, saying the commission had also begun examining how the irregularities occurred and identifying individuals responsible for compromising registration procedures.

The technical assessment reportedly uncovered cases involving suspected multiple registrations, unusual registration patterns, substituted photographs and irregularities associated with registration transactions.

INEC further alleged that some registration personnel deliberately circumvented established procedures and misused provisions designed to accommodate exceptional registration circumstances, including provisions for persons with disabilities.

The commission said the affected records had been identified and subjected to appropriate verification and corrective processes.

It also disclosed that 54 individuals across 10 states had been identified as allegedly complicit in the irregularities.

According to the chairman, the individuals would face necessary disciplinary measures, including possible prosecution, depending on the outcome of further investigations.

INEC said it was strengthening its registration procedures through improved biometric capture, authentication and verification safeguards to prevent similar incidents in subsequent registration exercises.

However, the commission warned that removing irregularities discovered during the 2025/2026 registration exercise would not completely resolve the historical problems affecting the national voters register.

Amupitan explained that many of the duplicate names and photographs circulating on social media originated from registration records captured between 2011 and 2023.

He disclosed that the commission, at its meeting on Monday, November 9, 2026, resolved to address outstanding duplication concerns associated with the older register.

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The chairman said records previously flagged through public complaints and other obvious cases identified during the review would be subjected to proper verification before removal.

INEC had earlier announced plans in February 2026 to conduct a nationwide voter revalidation exercise to improve the accuracy and reliability of the national register.

The proposed exercise was expected to provide an opportunity for voters to update their biometric information, resolve registration inconsistencies and improve accreditation experiences on election day.

However, following concerns raised by stakeholders over the proximity of the exercise to the 2027 general elections and the possibility of discouraging eligible voters from participating, the commission decided to postpone it until after the elections.

Amupitan stressed that postponing the revalidation exercise did not mean that INEC had suspended its existing mechanisms for protecting the integrity of the voters register.

He said biometric screening, statutory claims and objections, adjudication and other established verification procedures remained active.

The commission also addressed complaints from some Nigerians who claimed that their names had disappeared from the preliminary register.

According to INEC, investigations revealed that many of the affected individuals had registered between 2011 and 2023 but later registered again after relocating to different areas instead of using the official voter transfer process.

The commission explained that ABIS identified and voided the subsequent registrations, while their original records remained in the register at their previous locations.

Affected voters were therefore advised to check their former registration locations to establish the status of their records.

On the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), INEC disclosed that the distribution of cards from the first and second phases, alongside transferred PVCs, was ongoing across local government areas.

The commission said some PVCs from the third and final registration phase were still being delivered and would be dispatched to states in the following week.

It added that distribution would return to Registration Areas across the country from December 1, 2026, urging Nigerians who participated in the third phase to exercise patience because the production process was being handled outside the country.

INEC also reassured Nigerians that the removal of invalid records would not compromise the participation of eligible voters in the forthcoming general elections.

The commission explained that additional safeguards would be deployed on election day through the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and established procedures for presiding officers.

Under the system, voters must appear physically at their designated polling units and undergo biometric authentication using either their fingerprints or facial recognition.

The process is designed to verify voters against the register, record successful accreditation and prevent individuals from being accredited more than once.

INEC maintained that these measures, alongside procedures for issuing ballot papers, would provide additional protection against multiple voting.

The commission said its register-cleaning exercise for the 2025/2026 CVR had been concluded, while final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks would continue ahead of the release of the Final Register of Voters scheduled for December 15, 2026.

The latest development comes as preparations continue for Nigeria's 2027 general elections, with the accuracy and credibility of the national voters register expected to remain central to public confidence in the electoral process.

INEC said it would continue to publish verifiable information about the clean-up exercise while protecting voters' personal information and the integrity of ongoing investigations.