Nigeria’s INEC flags 1.5 million voter register anomalies
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tribune Online
Nigeria’s electoral commission INEC has flagged 1,545,052 suspicious registrations out of 11,088,238 recorded during the 2026 voter registration drive. Its director of information technology, Lawrence Bayode, says 268,000 records still require manual checks and officials found responsible for irregularities will be sanctioned, according to Tribune Online.
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) identified 1,545,052 irregular records among the 11,088,238 registrations recorded during the 2026 continuous voter registration exercise, according to its director of information and communication technology, Lawrence Bayode, cited by Tribune Online. These records may include multiple registrations and other anomalies requiring verification.
The commission’s automated biometric identification system, which compares fingerprints and faces, flagged the registrations. About 268,000 records remain subject to manual verification, while some of those flagged have already been removed. Lawrence Bayode said the system identified suspicious profiles, but an official had to confirm they were fraudulent before they could be definitively excluded.
The commission suspects some officials of misusing a procedure intended for people with disabilities who have incomplete or missing fingers. The procedure allows registration through an alternative mechanism to fingerprints. According to Lawrence Bayode, some officials may have used their credentials to create fictitious profiles in several states, and those found guilty face severe sanctions.
The checks come as INEC has kept Nigeria’s 2027 election dates unchanged, having already recorded challenges to the register and AI-generated photographs in some registrations.
