Get Guardian on Google***commission blames past voter register for irregularities
***awaits court order on Tinubu’s certificate, Atiku’s disqualification
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,609,553 records from the national voters’ register following a nationwide clean-up that uncovered multiple registrations, manipulated photographs, irregular registration patterns and records belonging to deceased persons.
The commission also said it had identified 54 personnel across 10 states allegedly involved in registration irregularities, warning that those found culpable would face administrative disciplinary measures and possible prosecution.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed these on Monday while addressing journalists in Abuja on the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The development comes as Amupitan said he was yet to receive a subpoena directing him to appear as a defence witness in the criminal case against activist Omoyele Sowore and produce electoral documents relating to President Bola Tinubu’s 1999 governorship and 2023 presidential elections.
The INEC chairman also said the commission would obtain and study the judgment of the Federal High Court nullifying the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and invalidating Atiku Abubakar’s presidential candidacy following a suit by former party deputy national chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe, before deciding its next line of action
Amupitan said the deleted records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 records belonging to verified deceased voters.
He explained that the commission had concluded the cleaning exercise relating to the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), adding that final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks were ongoing ahead of the release of the Final Register on December 15.
He said: ” It must be noted that the current National Register of Voters evolved through successive registration and Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercises since 2011. It therefore contains biometric and demographic data captured under different technologies, operational arrangements and quality standards.
“Although the register has undergone cleansing and biometric comparison at different points, significant historical integrity questions remain since 2011 and require a national, systematic response.
“Pursuant to section 19(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, the Commission is required to accept and consider objections, claims and complaints raised by the public to the Preliminary Register of Voters within fourteen (14) days after displaying the Voters Register.
“After verifying the objections, claims and complaints, the Commission is expected to take corrective action and ensure that the register is cleaned up ahead of the publication of the Final Register, which has been fixed for 15th December, 2026”
Giving a breakdown of the exercise, the INEC chairman said the commission harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the CVR exercise.
He said the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination, although he stressed that being flagged did not automatically mean a registration was invalid.
According to him, 1,277,052 registrations were confirmed invalid and excluded before the publication of the Preliminary Register.
Following complaints, claims and objections received during the seven-day display exercise between October 9 and 15, the commission subjected another 268,000 cases to adjudication.
Of these, 217,722 were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared as valid and retained.
Amupitan said additional screening subsequently identified another 113,886 invalid registrations, bringing the total number of invalid records removed after the review to 331,608.
The 331,608 records were removed in addition to the 1,277,052 registrations previously excluded, while the 873 deceased voters’ records were treated as a separate category.
He said the findings had raised serious questions about the integrity of the registration process and the conduct of some personnel involved in voter registration.
The chairman disclosed that the commission’s technical assessment uncovered instances of deliberate circumvention of established registration procedures, including the misuse of provisions intended for exceptional registration circumstances, particularly those relating to persons with disabilities.
He said the affected records had been identified and subjected to verification and remediation, while personnel allegedly connected with the infractions had been identified for further administrative investigation.
“Fifty-four persons cutting across ten States have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them including possible prosecution,” he said.
The INEC chairman, however, warned that the exercise had not completely resolved the integrity concerns surrounding the national voters’ register, as significant irregularities predated the latest registration exercise.
He said most of the complaints involving multiple registrations and suspicious photographs circulating on social media related to historical records captured between 2011 and 2023.
According to him, the commission’s decision to defer the proposed nationwide voter revalidation exercise until after the 2027 elections did not suspend its existing mechanisms for identifying and removing invalid registrations.
Amupitan said the commission, at its meeting on Monday, resolved to address outstanding duplications in the historical register, directing that records already flagged through public complaints and obvious cases identified internally should be removed after proper verification.
He explained that some voters who complained about the omission of their names had registered again after relocating instead of transferring their existing registrations to their new locations.
He said the second registrations were invalidated by the biometric screening system, while their original records remained at their previous polling locations.
The chairman advised affected voters to check their former registration locations rather than assume that their records had been completely removed from the register.
On allegations that artificial intelligence-generated photographs were used to compromise the registration process, Amupitan confirmed that the commission had identified cases involving manipulated images and was introducing additional safeguards.
He said the commission had directed its Director of Information and Communication Technology to discontinue the use of external webcam-based image uploads for voter registration, insisting that photographs should instead be captured through an approved application.
“You see, it takes just one person to compromise the password. Some of those things are given in authority. And when that is done, you know what AI can do,” he said.
Amupitan disclosed that INEC had also approved a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework to regulate the responsible deployment of AI in its operations.
He said the framework, developed through collaboration with partners, including the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the British High Commission, had undergone peer review and received the commission’s approval.
The chairman added that security agencies were conducting their own investigations into the irregularities, stressing that INEC would forward cases involving criminal conduct to appropriate law enforcement agencies for prosecution.
He said the commission was also strengthening its information technology infrastructure and cybersecurity measures ahead of the 2027 elections.
On concerns that the irregularities could undermine the credibility of the forthcoming elections, Amupitan maintained that existing safeguards, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), would prevent multiple accreditation and voting.
He explained that voters would be required to appear physically at their designated polling units and undergo biometric authentication using either fingerprints or facial recognition.
According to him, the system verifies voters’ identities against the register and records successful accreditation, with controls designed to prevent an individual from being accredited more than once.
The chairman said the complaints and objections received during the preliminary register display had demonstrated the importance of the statutory process provided under the Electoral Act, which allows members of the public to identify irregularities before publication of the final register.
He added that INEC remained committed to protecting eligible voters from wrongful exclusion while removing confirmed invalid entries.
On the controversy surrounding Federal High Court judgments relating to the leadership of the ADC, including the position of former Senate President, David Mark, and the implications for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy, Amupitan said INEC would not act on information circulating on social media.
He said the commission would first obtain and study the relevant court judgments and processes before determining its next line of action.
“We don’t just act on the basis of what was posted on the social media. Remember one of the judgments of Supreme Court sometime ago that was posted on social media, It trended and the Supreme Court disowned itself from it, and even some people have been investigated.
“So, normally, when we receive judgment like that, it comes with the provision of the relevant documents, like Certified True Copy surrounding each case. And in this case, I have yet to receive the judgments. So the judgment is to be received and studied. You know I’m also a lawyer. Apart from that, I will to through it to see the processes that have been filed”.
The INEC chairman also said he had yet to receive the order directing him to present President Bola Tinubu’s academic certificate before the court.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday had issued a subpoena directing Amupitan to appear before it and produce electoral documents relating to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship election and the 2023 presidential election.
The subpoena was issued in connection with the ongoing criminal trial of human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, over his description of President Tinubu as a criminal.
But Amupitan while responding to a question on the matter said the commission would study the order upon receipt and determine the appropriate steps in accordance with its provisions.
“I have not received the order. So when I receive the order, I would look at what it says and then know what to do accordingly”, he said.
Speaking on the possibility of early voting for journalists and electoral officials who would be on election duty, Amupitan said the proposal was not yet recognised under the existing electoral law.
He explained that efforts to introduce early voting through the amendment of the Electoral Act had not received the necessary support from the National Assembly.
He, however, expressed support for continued advocacy on the issue, noting that electoral officials and journalists also had the right to exercise their franchise.
