Nigeria's INEC targets 54 officials over electoral irregularities
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Business Day Nigeria
Nigeria's electoral commission INEC has identified 54 officials in ten states who could face disciplinary sanctions or prosecution over irregularities in voter registration. The announcement accompanies the removal of 1,608,660 invalid registrations from the preliminary register, according to its chairman Joash Amupitan, quoted by Business Day Nigeria.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has identified 54 registration officials in ten states who could face disciplinary sanctions, including legal proceedings, over alleged irregularities during voter registration. Its chairman, Joash Amupitan, announced the measures on Monday 9 November 2026 during a press briefing on the review of the preliminary electoral register.
The commission examined 11,088,238 records from the three phases of the continuous voter registration exercise for 2025-2026. Its automated biometric identification system initially flagged 1,545,052 registrations for verification. Amupitan clarified that this flagging did not automatically mean a registration was invalid, as each record had to undergo further examination. A total of 1,608,660 invalid registrations were removed from the register, along with 1,749 records concerning deceased people.
The review follows challenges raised after the preliminary register was displayed from 9 to 15 October. Citizens and civil society organisations had notably reported photographs suspected of being generated by artificial intelligence, multiple registrations and unusual names. Some images had circulated on social media, raising questions about biometric verification procedures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC plans to publish the corrected electoral register on 16 December 2026, in accordance with electoral law. Nigeria is due to hold general elections on 16 January and 6 February 2027. The review follows calls for stronger scrutiny of the electoral register by Oby Ezekwesili, a former Nigerian education minister, on 3 November, and the threats of sanctions against erring electoral actors announced by the commission on 9 November.
