WorldStage— The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed 1,277,252 invalid voter records from its database as part of a sweeping clean-up exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission had previously flagged a total of 1,545,052 questionable entries out of 11,088,238 registrations recorded during the 2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
While over 1.27 million records have been deleted, approximately 268,000 entries remain subject to further human adjudication and verification.
According to INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, the anomalies were caught using the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
The system detected duplicate registrations, questionable photographs, and irregular biometric data.
Notably, some of the flagged entries included photos suspected to be entirely artificial intelligence (AI)-generated.
Bayode clarified that while genuine photographs enhanced by basic mobile phone software will remain, entirely fabricated AI images are being scrubbed.
However, the massive purge has sparked serious questions regarding insider manipulation and institutional accountability.
INEC revealed that some of its own registration officials allegedly exploited their authorised login credentials to inject these fraudulent records into the national database.
In some instances, officials reportedly misused a special registration option reserved strictly for people with disabilities (PWDs) who have missing or incomplete fingers.
Public scrutiny intensified after INEC published its preliminary voter register online on October 26, prompting citizens to point out glaring irregularities, including duplicate entries and the names of deceased individuals.
Civil society groups and political analysts argue that removing the records is insufficient without exposing and prosecuting the internal actors who facilitated the data corruption.
Experts maintain that the commission must publish a transparent breakdown of the infractions to restore public faith.
In response to growing concerns, INEC assured stakeholders that the online preliminary register is a draft meant to facilitate public feedback.
The commission emphasized that the ongoing claims and objections process allows genuine voters to fix errors and protect their voting rights.
INEC Chairman Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) recently noted that the commission has already received thousands of claims and objections from the public.
The credibility of the 2027 polls hinges on the integrity of this database. INEC expects to publish the final certified Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.
