The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, faced protests and verbal attacks from Nigerians in London on Thursday over alleged irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The protesters confronted Amupitan outside Chatham House, where he was scheduled to participate in a discussion on Nigeria’s preparations for the next general election.
They surrounded the vehicle conveying the INEC chairman, shouting insults like “bastard evil man” and demanding his resignation over allegations that the electoral commission had compromised its neutrality in favour of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress.
The demonstrators accused INEC of allowing questionable entries into the preliminary voters’ register, including alleged duplicate registrations, artificial intelligence-generated photographs and suspicious polling units.
They also described the commission as a “criminal organisation”, insisting that the alleged irregularities raised serious questions about its credibility and independence.
The demonstration followed mounting public criticism of INEC over images and records circulating on social media, purportedly showing suspicious entries in the voters’ register.
The controversy intensified after the commission acknowledged irregularities in the registration exercise and announced measures to investigate and remove questionable records.
On November 9, Amupitan disclosed that INEC had expunged 1,608,660 invalid registrations discovered during its review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
He said an additional 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons had been deleted, bringing the total number of removed entries to 1,609,553.
The INEC chairman also revealed that 54 individuals across 10 states had been identified for alleged involvement in registration irregularities and could face disciplinary action or prosecution.
The offences under investigation include suspected multiple registrations, photograph substitution and violations of established voter registration procedures.
However, INEC maintained that some of the questionable records being circulated online originated from previous registration exercises dating back to 2011 and were not necessarily products of the latest exercise.
The London protest also revived concerns about the political neutrality of the electoral commission, particularly following the appointment of Amupitan’s predecessor, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, as Nigeria’s non-career ambassador to Qatar.
Yakubu was among 32 ambassadorial nominees forwarded to the Senate by President Tinubu in November 2025 and was subsequently designated for the diplomatic position.
Speaking at Chatham House, Amupitan sought to distance himself from any expectation of political patronage after his tenure, pledging not to accept an appointment from anyone.
“I’m not going to accept any appointment from anybody because coming to serve here is based on trust,” he said.
He maintained that public confidence in INEC depended on its ability to demonstrate impartiality and conduct its responsibilities without political interference.
On preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan disclosed that the commission was developing additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate results from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.
He said the measures were intended to strengthen the credibility of the electoral process, particularly regarding electronic transmission and the publication of polling unit results.
The confrontation comes amid increasing pressure on INEC from opposition parties, political stakeholders and civil society organisations to demonstrate transparency and independence as preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.