General News
Massive Voter Registration Fraud: INEC Deletes 1.6m Records, To Prosecute Staff
By Isa Abdul, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has, during its records assessment discovered widespread irregularities in the national register of voters, thus removing 1,609,533 records in its nationwide clean-up effort.
Discovered were multiple registrations, manipulated photographs, suspicious registration patterns and entries belonging to deceased persons.
The commission also identified 54 personnel across 10 states allegedly involved in the registration irregularities, warning that those found culpable would face administrative disciplinary measures and possible prosecution.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of the review of the Preliminary Register of Voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The irregularities have triggered new worries about the integrity of Nigeria’s elections, as the country inches towards another general elections in 2027.
Amupitan disclosed that the deleted records comprised 1,608,660 confirmed invalid registrations and 873 entries belonging to verified deceased voters.
He added that the commission had concluded the clean-up relating to the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. But final reconciliation, quality assurance and publication checks were ongoing ahead of the release of the Final Register of Voters scheduled for December 15, 2026.
According to him, the national register has evolved through successive registration and Continuous Voter Registration exercises since 2011, with biometric and demographic data captured under different technologies, operational arrangements and quality standards.
He noted that although the register had undergone cleansing and biometric comparisons at different stages, significant historical integrity concerns remained and required a systematic national response.
Amupitan said the review was undertaken pursuant to Section 19(2) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which requires the commission to consider objections, claims and complaints raised by members of the public against the Preliminary Register of Voters within 14 days of its display.
He explained that the statutory process allows eligible voters and members of the public to identify irregularities, enabling INEC to make necessary corrections before publishing the final register.
Giving a breakdown of the exercise, the INEC chairman said the commission harvested 11,088,238 registration records from the three phases of the CVR exercise.
He disclosed that the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) initially flagged 1,545,052 records for further examination, stressing that being flagged did not automatically establish that a registration was invalid.
Of the records subjected to further scrutiny, 1,277,052 registrations were confirmed invalid and excluded before the publication of the Preliminary Register.
Following complaints, claims and objections received during the seven-day display exercise conducted between October 9 and 15, the commission subjected another 268,000 cases to adjudication.
Amupitan said 217,722 of the cases were confirmed invalid and removed, while 50,278 were cleared as valid and retained in the register.
He added that subsequent screenings identified other 113,886 invalid registrations, bringing the additional invalid entries removed after the preliminary register review to 331,608.
The 331,608 records were removed in addition to the 1,277,052 registrations earlier excluded, while the 873 records belonging to deceased voters were treated as a separate category.
He said the affected records had been identified, subjected to verification and remediation, while personnel allegedly connected with the infractions had been identified. In his words:
“Fifty-four persons cutting across ten States have been identified as complicit and necessary disciplinary action will be taken against them including possible prosecution.”
Amupitan, however, cautioned that the latest exercise had not completely resolved the integrity concerns surrounding the national register, noting that several irregularities predated the 2025/2026 registration exercise.
He said many complaints involving multiple registrations and suspicious photographs circulating on social media related to historical records captured between 2011 and 2023.
According to him, the commission’s decision to defer the proposed nationwide voter revalidation exercise until after the 2027 general elections did not mean it had abandoned existing mechanisms for identifying and removing invalid entries.
He disclosed that INEC, at its meeting on Monday, resolved to address outstanding duplications in the historical register, directing that records already flagged through public complaints and obvious cases identified internally should be removed after proper verification.
The chairman also explained that some voters who relocated and complained about the omission of their names had registered afresh instead of transferring their existing registrations to their new polling locations.
He said the subsequent registrations were invalidated by the biometric screening system, while their original records remained at their previous registration locations.
He consequently advised affected voters to check their former registration locations rather than assume that their names had been completely removed from the register.
On allegations that artificial intelligence-generated photographs were being used to compromise voter registration, Amupitan confirmed that the commission had identified cases involving manipulated images and was introducing additional safeguards.
He said INEC had directed its Director of Information and Communication Technology to discontinue the use of external webcam-based image uploads for voter registration, insisting that photographs should instead be captured through an approved application.
“You see, it takes just one person to compromise the password. Some of those things are given in authority. And when that is done, you know what AI can do,” he said.
Amupitan further disclosed that the commission had approved a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence Governance Framework to regulate the responsible deployment of AI in its operations.
He said the framework, developed in collaboration with partners, including the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the British High Commission, had undergone peer review and received the commission’s approval.
He added that security agencies were conducting independent investigations into the irregularities, while INEC would refer cases involving suspected criminal conduct to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for prosecution.
The commission, he said, was also strengthening its information technology infrastructure and cybersecurity measures ahead of the 2027 elections.
Addressing concerns that the discovered irregularities could undermine the credibility of the forthcoming elections, Amupitan maintained that existing safeguards, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), would prevent multiple accreditation and voting.
He explained that voters would be required to appear physically at their designated polling units and undergo biometric authentication through either fingerprint verification or facial recognition.
According to him, the system verifies voters’ identities against the register and records successful accreditation, with controls designed to prevent an individual from being accredited more than once.
The INEC chairman said the complaints and objections received during the preliminary register display had demonstrated the importance of the statutory review process, which provides an opportunity for the public to identify irregularities before publication of the final register.
He reiterated the commission’s commitment to protecting eligible voters against wrongful exclusion while ensuring that confirmed invalid entries were removed.
Meanwhile, Amupitan said INEC would obtain and study the judgment of the Federal High Court concerning the leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) before determining its next line of action.
The judgment, which nullified the David Mark-led leadership of the party, has raised questions about the party’s leadership structure and its preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan said the commission would not act on information circulating on social media without first obtaining the relevant court documents and examining the judicial processes.
“We don’t just act on the basis of what was posted on the social media. Remember one of the judgments of Supreme Court sometime ago that was posted on social media, It trended and the Supreme Court disowned itself from it, and even some people have been investigated.
“So, normally, when we receive judgment like that, it comes with the provision of the relevant documents, like Certified True Copy surrounding each case. And in this case, I have yet to receive the judgments. So the judgment is to be received and studied. You know I’m also a lawyer. Apart from that, I will go through it to see the processes that have been filed”.
On the subpoena issued by a Federal High Court in Abuja directing him to appear as a defence witness in the ongoing criminal trial of human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, Amupitan said he was yet to receive the order.
The subpoena directs the INEC chairman to produce electoral documents relating to President Bola Tinubu’s 1999 Lagos State governorship election and the 2023 presidential election.
Sowore is standing trial over his description of the President as a criminal, a remark that forms part of the allegations in the ongoing case.
Responding to questions on the matter, Amupitan said the commission would study the subpoena upon receipt and determine the appropriate action in accordance with its provisions.
“I have not received the order. So when I receive the order, I would look at what it says and then know what to do accordingly,” he said.
On the possibility of introducing early voting for journalists and electoral officials who would be engaged in election duties, the INEC chairman said the proposal was not currently recognised under the existing electoral law.
He explained that previous efforts to introduce early voting through amendments to the Electoral Act had not secured the necessary support in the National Assembly.
Amupitan, however, expressed support for continued advocacy on the issue, noting that electoral officials and journalists should also have the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote, even when their professional responsibilities require them to be on election duty.
By Seyi Balogun, Lagos
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, has recovered from Aiteo Exploration and Production Limited and Newcross Exploration & Production Limited the sums of $3,000,000.00 (Three Million United States Dollars) and N1,303,128,000.00 (One Billion, Three Hundred and Three Million, One Hundred and Twenty-eight Thousand Naira) and handed over to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC on Monday, November 10, 2026.
The recovered funds, which form part of the liabilities established against the two companies for unremitted statutory payments to the Federation, were handed over by the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo.
The recovery followed an investigation by the EFCC after it received a petition from a consulting firm engaged by RMAFC, alleging conspiracy, tax evasion and economic sabotage resulting in revenue losses to the Federation.
The petitioner alleged that revenues accruable to the Federation in respect of stamp duty and pipeline transportation fees were not remitted into the designated accounts of the Federation.
The affected facilities included Escravos, Pennington, Trans-Forcados, Odudu, Amenam and Nembe Creek Trunkline.
The alleged non-remittance of the revenues reportedly resulted in substantial losses to the Federation between 2010 and 2019.
In response to the development, RMAFC obtained a presidential fiat dated December 20, 2021, authorising it to recover all outstanding revenues due to the Federation from the affected public and private entities.
Following the commencement of investigation by the EFCC, Aiteo Exploration and Production Limited and Newcross Exploration & Production Limited submitted relevant documents detailing their remittances in respect of their respective operations.
However, a review and analysis of the documents established that Aiteo failed to remit the sum of $38,430,000.00 (Thirty-Eight Million, Four Hundred and Thirty Thousand United States Dollars), being 1.5 per cent stamp duty arising from its acquisition of Oil Mining Lease (OML 29) and Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL).
Investigations further revealed that Newcross Exploration & Production Limited failed to remit $22,841,662.03 (Twenty-Two Million, Eight Hundred and Forty-one Thousand, Six Hundred and Sixty-two United States Dollars, Three Cents) as crude oil transportation fees for the use of Nembe Creek Trunkline, which is operated as a joint venture between the Federal Government and Aiteo Exploration and Production Limited.
The two companies subsequently accepted their respective liabilities and commenced payments towards the settlement of the outstanding obligations through the EFCC’s recovery accounts domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
More investigation and recovery efforts resulted in additional payments between January 28, 2026, and August 24, 2026.
During the period, Aiteo Exploration and Production Limited paid $1,500,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and N750,000,000.00 (Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Naira) into the EFCC recovery account in respect of unremitted stamp duty.
Newcross Exploration & Production Limited paid $1,500,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) and N553,128,000.00 (Five Hundred and Fifty-Three Million, One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand Naira) as outstanding pipeline and terminal fees.
Consequently, the total recovery from the two companies stood at $3,000,000.00 and ₦1,303,128,000.00, which were handed over to RMAFC during the brief ceremony.
By Felix Umande
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has declared his readiness to step down for a formidable opposition candidate in the 2027 election if a consensus one emerges within the opposition coalition to challenge President Bola Tinubu.
Duke said he would respect a democratic decision by opposition parties to settle for another presidential candidate, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar or former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, provided such an agreement was reached through a collective process.
The former Cross River State governor spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the unveiling of his vice presidential candidate, Malam Sule Mohammed, and the PRP manifesto.
Asked whether he would step down for a stronger candidate if the PRP and the opposition coalition agreed to support one person against Tinubu, Duke said the purpose of a coalition should go beyond sharing political positions and selecting a presidential candidate.
He said opposition parties must first agree on a common vision for Nigeria before deciding who should lead the alliance.
“A coalition is not just about picking a presidential candidate. That’s the mistake we are all making. It’s about us coming together to agree on where we would like to take our nation to,” Duke said.
“You’ve called names of two eminent politicians, but that may not be enough. So, I don’t want to presuppose anything. But at the end of the day, I’ll be sportsmanlike about it.”
He added: “If the group, and so far there are quite a number of us, comes up with an agreement that this is the best person to lead the coalition, you can’t say you’re a Democrat and not be subject to the rules of democracy. Of course, if it’s me, I hope they would do the same. And if it’s any other person, I would do the same. I would respect it.”
Duke stressed that the more important thing was not even the picking of a candidate, but the commonality and the direction the coalition wants to take Nigeria.
“We don’t want to replace the APC or the present administration with someone who would take us back again. So, if the candidates and the party agree that this is a person we should back, of course, that’s what is expected of me,” he said.
Duke also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of enjoying an overwhelming advantage in campaign visibility, alleging that opposition parties were facing difficulties securing venues and advertising spaces ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said the situation was making it increasingly difficult for opposition candidates to reach voters across the country.
“You can see what is happening to other opposition parties who have been on the campaign train. If you go throughout the country, you hardly find their billboards and posters on the streets of the various cities across Nigeria,” he said.
“You only find one party, the APC. In some states, I’m told that you need to spend as much as N1bn for you to even begin to advertise.”
By Lazarus Oko
Less than 36 per cent of Nigerians have access to improved toilet facilities, raising concerns over persistent sanitation challenges and the associated public health risks, according to the Federal government.
This was disclosed on Tuesday during a press briefing in Abuja to commemorate the 2026 World Toilet Day, by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal.
The Director of Pollution Control and Environmental Health, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, who represented Lawal at the event regretted that public places, such as markets, motor parks, schools and communities, still have inadequate and functional toilet facilities.
He warned that the situation led to open defecation, contamination of food and water sources, and the spread of sanitation-related diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
Apart from threats to public health, it is a threat to environmental safety and human dignity, he stressed.
The minister pointed out that women, girls, children, older persons and persons living with disabilities were worse affected by the shortage of appropriate sanitation facilities.
He stressed that no child should miss school because of inadequate toilet facilities, while no woman or girl should be forced to compromise her safety and dignity because of the absence of suitable toilets.
From a global perspective, Lawal said about 4.5 billion people worldwide still lacked safely managed sanitation, while 892 million continued to practise open defecation.
He said the figures underscored the need to accelerate efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those relating to clean water and sanitation, gender equality, good health and sustainable communities by 2030.
Government interventions
On efforts to address the challenge, the minister said the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with relevant ministries, state governments and development partners, was implementing programmes to improve sanitation and promote safe excreta disposal nationwide.
He listed the initiatives to include capacity building for Environmental Health Officers on faecal sludge management and toilet design, the Clean and Green Programme, and the Community-Based Waste Management and Open Defecation Control Programme.
Other interventions, he said, included integrating sanitation into climate adaptation and circular economy initiatives, as well as partnering with private sector operators to provide environmentally friendly sanitation facilities.
Lawal announced that the ministry would convene a National Dialogue on Faecal Sludge Management on November 23, 2026, involving seven selected states across the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the dialogue would enable participating states to assess their experiences, share challenges and develop practical recommendations for improving faecal sludge management.
As part of activities marking the World Toilet Day, the ministry will also organise a community sensitisation campaign at Kpadna Community, Utako, Abuja, on November 19.
The campaign is expected to engage residents, traders and food vendors on proper sanitation, hand hygiene and safe waste disposal through health talks, interactive discussions and practical demonstrations by Environmental Health Officers.
He added that the commemoration would take place simultaneously across the 36 states and the FCT through community sensitisation, advocacy campaigns and sanitary inspections of public places.
The minister called on state and local governments to strengthen faecal sludge and wastewater management systems, while urging households to embrace proper toilet use, handwashing and environmental cleanliness.
He also urged the private sector to invest in affordable sanitation technologies and climate-resilient infrastructure, while calling on development partners and civil society organisations to sustain their support for sanitation advocacy and infrastructure development.
Lawal further stressed the need for women and girls to participate actively in designing, implementing and monitoring sanitation interventions, rather than being treated merely as beneficiaries.
The 2026 World Toilet Day is under the theme, “Sanitation and Gender Equality,” with the campaign tagline, “Safe Toilets. Equal Futures.”
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