The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations from the preliminary register of voters following a nationwide review of entries recorded during the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.

The commission also disclosed that it had removed 1,749 records belonging to deceased persons after identifying additional cases during the verification exercise.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the review of the preliminary register of voters.

Amupitan said the commission had received a total of 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the 2025/2026 CVR exercise.

According to him, the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination.

He, however, clarified that being flagged by the automated system did not automatically render a registration invalid, explaining that each case underwent further investigation and authorised adjudication before being removed.

The clean-up exercise followed complaints and objections raised by Nigerians after INEC displayed the preliminary register nationwide between October 9 and 15, 2026.

The register attracted widespread criticism following the discovery of alleged irregularities, including suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs, multiple registrations, unusual names, and entries belonging to deceased persons.

Some of the questionable photographs circulated on social media, raising concerns about the credibility of the voter registration process and the effectiveness of the commission’s verification procedures.

INEC subsequently reviewed the register to investigate the complaints and remove entries established to be invalid.

Amupitan further disclosed that 54 registration officials across 10 states had been identified for possible disciplinary action, including prosecution, over their alleged involvement in irregularities uncovered during the exercise.

The commission said it would publish the cleaned-up register of voters on December 16, 2026, in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.