Nigeria’s INEC removes invalid voter registrations

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission says it has removed invalid voter registrations and records of deceased people from the national register ahead of the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the cleanup followed biometric screening and public objections to the preliminary register, which was displayed from October 9 to 15, 2026.

Amupitan said the commission processed 11,088,238 registration records using its Automated Biometric Identification System. The system flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination, but he said a flag alone did not establish that a registration was invalid.

Before the preliminary register was published, 1,277,052 registrations had been confirmed invalid and excluded, according to Amupitan. After public objections, INEC adjudicated 268,000 cases, removing 217,722 registrations and retaining 50,278 as valid. A further 113,886 invalid registrations were identified and removed after subsequent screening, he said.

The reported overall totals differ. Amupitan put the combined number of invalid registrations and deceased-voter records removed at 1,609,553, including 873 verified deceased records. Another account of the...