A 33-year-old woman, whose name is being withheld and referred to as Chinwe Adebayo, has allegedly discovered that official records listed her as dead after visiting an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Surulere, Lagos, to collect her Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC).
According to Chinwe, an INEC officer scanned her National Identification Number (NIN) slip before informing her that the system identified her as deceased.
She said the record listed her date of death as March 15, 2025, with cardiac arrest recorded as the cause of death and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) as the place of death.
The document allegedly identified her husband, Chukwudi Adebayo, as the informant and indicated that the death record was updated by the National Population Commission (NPC) on March 22, 2025. The woman subsequently visited the NPC office in Yaba, where she obtained a certified copy of the alleged death certificate. She said the document bore her personal details and her husband’s signature as the person who reported the death.
She alleged that her husband later admitted creating the death record with assistance from a friend working in hospital records and using it to obtain N2.5 million from her cooperative insurance benefit.
According to her account, Chukwudi allegedly used part of the money to pay a bride price and establish accommodation for another woman, identified as Ifeoma, who is reportedly seven months pregnant.
Chinwe said she also discovered that her cooperative account had been marked “DECEASED – ACCOUNT CLOSED,” while her pension account remained active.
However, she is now considering legal action to reverse the death record and investigate the alleged fraud, while seeking evidence from the cooperative, including records of the claimed payment.
The case raises concerns about the alleged misuse of identity and official death-registration records.
