Nigerians in the Diaspora on Thursday confronted the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, in London, blocking his vehicle and demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The protesters surrounded the vehicle conveying Amupitan outside Chatham House, where he was scheduled to speak at a panel discussion on Nigeria’s preparedness for the forthcoming elections.
The demonstrators accused INEC of undermining its independence and allegedly favouring President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
They reportedly shouted insults at the electoral chief, described the commission as a “criminal organisation” and called for his immediate resignation over alleged multiple voter registrations, questionable polling units and photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence.
The demonstration followed growing public outrage over purported irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register, with images and records circulating on social media raising questions about the credibility of the registration process.
INEC had acknowledged discrepancies in the exercise and announced investigations into the suspicious entries.
Speaking on November 9, Amupitan disclosed that the commission had removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations following an audit of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
He added that 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons had also been deleted, bringing the total number of removed records to 1,609,553.
The INEC chairman further revealed that 54 individuals across 10 states had been identified for alleged involvement in registration-related offences and could face disciplinary action, including prosecution.
He identified the infractions as suspected multiple registrations, photograph substitutions and violations of established voter registration procedures.
However, INEC maintained that some of the questionable entries circulating online were inherited from previous registration exercises dating back to 2011 and were not necessarily products of the latest exercise.
The protest also brought renewed scrutiny to the perceived independence 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 before being designated for the diplomatic position.
Responding to concerns that he could similarly accept a political or diplomatic appointment after his tenure, Amupitan assured Nigerians that he would not accept any such offer.
“I’m not going to accept any appointment from anybody because coming to serve here is based on trust,” he declared during the Chatham House engagement.
He maintained that preserving public confidence in INEC required strict neutrality and independence in the discharge of his responsibilities.
Amupitan also disclosed that the commission was strengthening its technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate election results from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal during the 2027 elections.
The measures, he explained, were intended to improve the credibility of the electoral process and address lingering concerns over electronic transmission and the publication of polling unit results.
The London confrontation highlights the mounting pressure on INEC to rebuild public confidence in its operations, as Nigerians and political stakeholders intensify calls for transparency, accountability and credible elections ahead of the 2027 polls.
