Nigerians in the diaspora on Thursday staged a protest against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, in London, demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the preliminary voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The protesters reportedly surrounded a vehicle conveying Amupitan outside Chatham House, where he was scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
During the demonstration, the protesters accused INEC of compromising its neutrality and allegedly favouring President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
They also described the electoral commission as a “criminal organisation” and called on Amupitan to step down, citing alleged multiple voter registrations, questionable polling units and photographs suspected to have been generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence.
The demonstration followed widespread public outrage over images and records circulating on social media, purportedly showing suspicious entries in the preliminary voters’ register.
INEC had acknowledged irregularities in the registration process and promised to investigate the affected records.
Speaking on November 9, Amupitan disclosed that the commission had deleted 1,608,660 invalid voter registrations uncovered during its review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration exercise.
He added that 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons had also been removed, bringing the total number of deleted records to 1,609,553.
The INEC chairman further revealed that 54 individuals across 10 states had been identified over alleged involvement in registration irregularities and could face disciplinary measures, including prosecution.
According to him, the infractions included suspected multiple registrations, photograph substitution and violations of established 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 registration exercise.
The London demonstration also renewed concerns about the independence of the electoral commission, particularly following the diplomatic appointment of Amupitan’s predecessor, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, after his exit from office.
Yakubu was among 32 ambassadorial nominees forwarded to the Senate by President Tinubu in November 2025 and was subsequently designated Nigeria’s non-career ambassador to Qatar.
Addressing the possibility of accepting a political or diplomatic appointment after his tenure, Amupitan pledged not to take up any such offer, arguing that doing so could undermine public confidence in his impartiality.
“I’m not going to accept any appointment from anybody because coming to serve here is based on trust,” he said during the Chatham House engagement.
He insisted that his position required him to remain neutral and discharge his responsibilities without political interference.
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC was introducing additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate election results from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal during the 2027 general elections.
He said the measures were designed to strengthen the credibility of the electoral process and address lingering concerns over electronic transmission and the publication of polling unit results.
The protest comes amid mounting pressure from political parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders for greater transparency and accountability from INEC as preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.
