The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties has demanded a forensic audit of the Independent National Electoral Commission and the criminal prosecution of its officials found culpable in the registration irregularities discovered in the voters’ register.

Its deputy national spokesperson, James Ezema, made the demand in a statement on Tuesday, following INEC’s clean-up exercise, which flagged and removed 1,609,553 invalid voter registration records and 873 verified deceased voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC chairman Joash Amupitan, at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, said 54 people across 10 states had been identified as complicit in the registration irregularities, adding that those involved would face disciplinary measures, including possible prosecution.

Mr Ezema said the attempt to rig the 2027 election, including by INEC officials, is an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional order, and has exposed institutional weaknesses that could undermine public confidence in the forthcoming elections.

“The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has declared that electoral fraud is an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty and constitutional order, demanding an independent forensic audit of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), criminal prosecution of officials found culpable in voter registration irregularities and tougher legislation against organised electoral subversion ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“The political parties’ coalition said the revelations by INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, SAN, concerning irregularities uncovered in the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise had exposed disturbing institutional weaknesses that could undermine public confidence in the forthcoming elections,” said the statement.

Mr Ezema said the development at INEC is a matter of grave national concern requiring immediate independent investigation and comprehensive institutional reforms, insisting that the errant INEC officials should not be dismissed as routine administrative corrections, especially because the revelations went beyond individual misconduct.

The CNPP is worried that insiders in INEC could manipulate critical electoral processes without effective internal safeguards, posing a serious threat to the credibility of the electoral system and raising fundamental questions about the integrity of INEC’s internal processes and its capacity to protect Nigerians’ constitutional right to elect their leaders freely.

The coalition challenged INEC “to publicly explain how the irregularities occurred, why its monitoring systems failed to detect them promptly, how long the violations persisted and what concrete measures had been introduced to prevent a recurrence.

CNPP insisted that no individual should enjoy immunity because of their position, political connections or institutional affiliation, adding that Nigerians deserved transparent investigations, public accountability and justice rather than official assurances followed by silence.

It said, “Nobody should be allowed to steal the sovereign mandate of millions of Nigerians and face consequences that are weaker than those prescribed for serious attacks against the constitutional order.

“The ballot is the people’s instrument of sovereignty. Stealing it is an attack on the people, an assault on democracy and a subversion of the constitutional order. The time for cosmetic electoral reforms is over. The time for institutional accountability is now.”