INEC chairman Amupitan confronted by Nigerian protesters in London, who demand his resignation over the voters' register
Nigerian protesters surrounded the vehicle carrying the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, outside Chatham House in London on Thursday, demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the preliminary voters' register ahead of the 2027 elections. The protesters' claims — duplicate entries, photographs suspected to be AI-generated, deceased voters and questionable polling units — are allegations, not established findings. Inside the dialogue, Amupitan defended the commission's preparations, saying INEC has removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations and will not let inaccurate results reach its results portal in 2027.
Key points
- Protesters surrounded Amupitan's vehicle outside Chatham House on Thursday and demanded his resignation; no injury or arrest was reported.
- Their case rests on alleged register irregularities — duplicates, suspected AI-generated photographs, deceased voters, questionable polling units — which are allegations, not established findings.
- INEC says it has already removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations and 873 deceased voters' records, and has fixed a nationwide mock exercise for 28 November.
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- Amupitan acknowledged the trust deficit from 2023 and pledged safeguards for the IReV portal; former senator Shehu Sani criticised the protest.
Watch: the moment itself
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Video: Chatham House · Watch on YouTube
What happened
The confrontation came as scrutiny of the preliminary voters' register has grown, after images and records circulated purporting to show suspicious entries from the recent Continuous Voter Registration exercise. INEC has already flagged hundreds of voter records over AI-generated photographs in its own cleanup, and the final register is expected on 15 December 2026.
Nigeria's presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for 16 January 2027, with governorship and state assembly elections on 6 February 2027.
Both sides, in their own words
Both sides heard. Neither believed for free. Publishing a side's version is not endorsing it — the claim checks below are where verdicts live.
Side A · The protesters' position
- INEC has compromised its neutrality and favours President Bola Tinubu and the ruling APC — the protesters' allegation, not an established finding.
- The preliminary voters' register contains duplicate entries, photographs suspected to be AI-generated, records of deceased voters and questionable polling units, and the commission has not explained them satisfactorily.
- Amupitan should resign.
Side B · INEC and Amupitan's position
- INEC has removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations and 873 deceased voters' records after reviewing the 2025/2026 registration exercise, and has identified 54 people for possible prosecution.
- Technical safeguards will prevent inaccurate results from being uploaded to the IReV results portal in 2027; a nationwide mock accreditation and voting exercise is fixed for 28 November 2026.
- Amupitan says he will accept no political or diplomatic appointment after his tenure, because the role rests on public trust.
Independently verified
2 claims independently verified — listed in the claim-by-claim check below.Not yet verified
Nothing outstanding.What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the confrontation happened outside Chatham House on Thursday, with the vehicle surrounded and resignation demanded, reported consistently by several outlets.
- INEC's own cleanup disclosures and the dates of the mock exercise and the final register.
What we don't know yet
- Whether the preliminary register in fact contains the AI-generated photographs, duplicates and fictitious polling units the protesters allege — no independent finding was in the reporting read.
- How many people took part in the protest — no settled count was reported.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (3)
Why this label: The confrontation, the venue and the resignation demand agree across several independent Nigerian outlets reporting the same event.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The allegations are labelled disputed: they are asserted by the protesters and denied in effect by the commission's cleanup account, and no independent finding on them was in the reporting read.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
Why this label: The cleanup figures are INEC's own disclosures, stated as such; Amupitan's remarks were made on the record at the dialogue, whose recording is attached.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
The register is the foundation every 2027 result will stand on, and the argument over it has now followed Nigeria's electoral chief to a London stage. The protesters' claims are unproven; INEC's cleanup figures are its own. What is settled is the confrontation itself — and that trust, by the chairman's own admission at the dialogue, is what the commission still has to rebuild.
Background
Amupitan discloses that INEC has removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations and 873 deceased voters' records from the register, and identified 54 people for possible prosecution.
Amupitan speaks at the Chatham House dialogue on Nigeria's 2027 elections; protesters surround his vehicle outside and demand his resignation.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published — the confrontation is confirmed by several outlets; the protesters' register claims are labelled as allegations, and INEC's response is carried in full.