VIDEO: Angry Nigerians Block Amupitan’s Vehicle in London, Demand INEC Chairman’s Resignation
By OUR REPORTER
In a dramatic confrontation captured in a viral video, the demonstrators, believed to be Nigerians in the diaspora, accused INEC of compromising its neutrality and working in favour of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). They described the electoral commission as a “criminal organisation” and called for Amupitan’s immediate resignation, citing alleged multiple voter registrations, artificial intelligence-generated photographs and questionable polling units in the preliminary voters’ register.
In a foretaste of what could happen if authorities responsible for managing the electoral process fail the electorate or allow the manipulation of their freely cast votes in the 2027 general elections, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, was on Thursday, November 12, 2026, confronted by angry Nigerian protesters in London, who disgraced him to the watch British police and public by blocking his vehicle, heckling him and demanding his resignation over alleged irregularities in the voters’ register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The protesters surrounded the vehicle conveying Amupitan outside the Chatham House, where he was scheduled to speak at a panel discussion on Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
In a dramatic confrontation captured in a viral video, the demonstrators, believed to be Nigerians in the diaspora, accused INEC of compromising its neutrality and working in favour of President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
They described the electoral commission as a “criminal organisation” and called for Amupitan’s immediate resignation, citing alleged multiple voter registrations, artificial intelligence-generated photographs and questionable polling units in the preliminary voters’ register.
The protest followed mounting public outrage over suspicious entries in the preliminary voters’ register, with images and records circulating on social media purportedly showing duplicate registrations and photographs suspected to have been generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence.
INEC subsequently acknowledged irregularities in the registration process and announced investigations into the questionable records.
On November 9, Amupitan disclosed that the commission had removed 1,608,660 invalid registrations following a review of the 2025/2026 Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.
He also announced the removal of 873 records belonging to verified deceased persons, bringing the total number of deleted entries to 1,609,553.
According to him, 54 persons across 10 states had been identified as allegedly involved in registration irregularities and would face disciplinary action, including possible prosecution.
He listed the infractions to include suspected multiple registrations, substituted photographs and breaches of established registration procedures.
INEC, however, maintained that some of the questionable entries circulating on social media originated from previous registration exercises dating back to 2011 and were not necessarily products of the latest exercise.
The London confrontation has further intensified scrutiny of INEC’s independence, particularly against the backdrop of the diplomatic appointment accepted by Amupitan’s predecessor, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, after leaving 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.
Apparently mindful of the implications of such appointments for public confidence in the electoral commission, Amupitan pledged that he would not accept any political or diplomatic appointment after his tenure.
“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 insisted that his position as INEC chairman required him to demonstrate impartiality in the discharge of his responsibilities.
On preparations for the 2027 elections, Amupitan also disclosed that INEC was introducing additional technical safeguards to prevent inaccurate election results from being uploaded to its Result Viewing Portal.
He said the measures were aimed at strengthening the credibility of the electoral process and addressing concerns over electronic transmission and the publication of polling unit results.
The protest underscores growing public distrust and demands for greater transparency, accountability and demonstrable neutrality from INEC as Nigeria approaches the crucial 2027 general elections.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A SOCIAL MEDIA CLIP OF VIDEO
