Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deleted 1,608,660 flawed entries from the preliminary voter list created during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration cycle. Premium Times reported that the body identified 54 staff members in ten states who allegedly distorted the sign-up process, leading to errors in the database. INEC head Joash Amupitan revealed these details during a Monday, 9 November 2026, briefing in Abuja, confirming that the problematic data had been audited and fixed.
The technical review found that certain registrars bypassed standard rules and misused special provisions meant for exceptional cases, such as those for disabled voters. According to Premium Times, the audit looked at duplicate entries, odd sign-up trends, swapped images, and transaction anomalies. Amupitan noted that the agency is upgrading its sign-up controls by adding stronger biometric checks, identity verification, and validation layers to stop future errors.
The review was triggered by public feedback on the preliminary list, which was shown at sign-up sites from 9 to 15 October 2026 and posted online on 26 October 2026. Citizens questioned the presence of dubious profiles, including potential AI-made images, plus claims of duplicate names, strange identifiers, and living people listed as deceased. The agency’s Automated Biometric Identification System had previously marked 1,545,052 out of 11,088,238 total entries from the three sign-up phases for closer look.
After further public input, INEC re-examined 268,000 cases, rejecting 217,722 and keeping 50,278. Amupitan clarified that many of the duplicate names and odd photos seen on social media originated from data collected between 2011 and 2023, not the current cycle. He explained that the national list has changed over time since 2011, using various technologies and operational setups. The agency ordered that flagged entries and clear errors be deleted after verification, while the 54 named staff face administrative probes and potential legal action.