The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday blamed some of its registration officers across the country for the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photographs and other irregularities in its preliminary voters’ register.
The commission alleged that some officials exploited their authorised access to its registration system to introduce questionable records into the database.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology Dr Lawrence Bayode speaking during an interview on Arise Televisionsaid that investigations revealed that some registration officers used their login credentials to upload suspicious photographs and other irregular entries into the voters’ register.
According to him the commission uncovered the anomalies through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) which was deployed to scrutinise registration records and identify questionable entries.
‘We have registration officers on the field. And these registration officers they have login details to log into the system’ he said.
‘So what we have found is that some of these registration officers not all of them now some of them across the states nationwide they’ve done different things to bring these irregularities onto the register.’
Bayode explained that while some of the suspicious photographs appeared to have been generated using artificial intelligence others were products of poorly conducted registration exercises.
‘Some of these pictures are AI-generated. Some of them not AI-generated but very bad registration. And this thing got into the register by the registration officers and because they have access to register people’ he stated.
The ICT director said INEC had identified the questionable records and established how some of the irregularities were introduced into the system.
But he said the commission had yet to establish the motive of the officials involved.
‘When the ABIS was run on the system we saw these people. We know what they did. We know how they did it. But honestly I don’t know why’ Bayode added.
He maintained that the electoral body has commenced efforts to sanitise the voters’ register even before publishing the preliminary version.
Bayode also noted that the commission was working under pressure to conclude the exercise within the statutory 90-day period.
The revelation comes amid growing public concerns over the credibility of the voters’ register following the discovery of suspicious photographs alleged duplicate entries and other discrepancies.
The controversy erupted after INEC uploaded its preliminary register of voters to its official website on October 26 prompting scrutiny from members of the public.
Screenshots subsequently circulated on social media showed photographs suspected to have been generated using AI attached to voter records .
Apart from the questionable images some Nigerians raised concerns over alleged multiple registrations while others complained that their details were missing from the online database despite having previously registered.
INEC had earlier clarified that the online register was the same preliminary version displayed physically at Registration Areas nationwide between October 9 and 15 during the Display Claims and Objections exercise.
In a statement issued on October 27 the commission acknowledged that some questionable records had been identified and flagged during the physical display.
It assured Nigerians that a review was underway and that necessary corrective measures were being taken to address the anomalies.
The electoral umpire further emphasised that the published register was provisional and should not be mistaken for the final certified list of eligible voters.
According to the commission the online publication did not capture all the ongoing verification and data-cleanup activities aimed at eliminating irregular entries.
INEC is expected to conclude its verification adjudication and data-cleanup processes before certifying the final register of voters on December 15 2026.
Atiku wants culprits identified prosecuted
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Atiku Abubakar asked the commission to identify the officials involved and prosecute them accordingly.
He called INEC’s admission that registration officers introduced artificial intelligence-generated images and other irregularities into the register as a serious failure of electoral safeguards.
He spoke through the Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice president demanded an independent forensic audit of the register claiming that more than 20 million AI-generated images might be involved and urged the commission to preserve all voter records image files access logs and audit trails for scrutiny.
‘INEC has admitted that some AI-generated images are on the voter register and that registration officers introduced irregularities across the country.
‘The Commission charged with protecting Nigerians’ votes has acknowledged that its own system was abused by those entrusted to operate it. This is a catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards’ he said.
Atiku faulted INEC for acknowledging that it knew how its officials tampered with the register but was yet to explain the circumstances or identify those responsible.
He challenged the commission’s leadership to disclose the evidence name the officials involved and explain why they had not been suspended or prosecuted.
‘Amupitan cannot admit the misconduct withhold the perpetrators’ identities and expect Nigerians to accept ignorance as an excuse. He must account for this failure now’ he said.
The former vice-president warned against any attempt to correct the register without preserving evidence of the alleged manipulation insisting that independent experts political parties civil society organisations and credible international observers should be allowed to examine the records.
‘No disputed record should be certified until the audit is complete’ he said.
Atiku also accused INEC of failing to address opposition parties’ demands for disclosure of the companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials.
He said transparency about the contractors and the safeguards governing their work was necessary to build confidence in the electoral process arguing that opposition parties should have access to the same information available to the governing party.
‘If INEC refuses to disclose the truth we will go to court and compel it. Every official found to have tampered with the register must be prosecuted’ he said.
Atiku called on opposition leaders and the international community to demand an independent audit full disclosure and accountability from the electoral commission.
He also accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of allowing INEC to evade scrutiny warning that the commission could not expect public confidence while withholding information about the alleged irregularities.
The ADC campaign council said the credibility of the 2027 general elections depended on INEC’s willingness to identify those responsible disclose the contractors handling election materials and submit the register to independent scrutiny.
Amupitan: Mistakes of the past won’t occur in 2027
INEC chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan yesterday said the commission was working round the clock and with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the mistakes of the past do not occur in the 2027 general election.
He however said that the conduct of a successful general election is a collective national enterprise which requires the collaboration of the political parties and other organs to deliver a credible election.
Amupitan who spoke when the ECOWAS Fact-Finding Mission for the 2027 general elections visited the commission said while INEC serves as the impartial umpire the ultimate success of the ballot relies on political parties adhering to internal democracy and peaceful campaigning civil society driving voter education media houses combating fake news and digital disinformation and security agencies maintaining neutral protection.
The INEC boss said that a stable transparent and peaceful election in Nigeria remains a vital anchor for democratic governance in West Africa Amupitan said the commission was not unaware of several cases of violence across the country which he said constitute a threat to the successful conduct of the elections.
The commission he said was working in collaboration with the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to ensure that all security challenges are addressed to ensure the safety of everyone participating in the elections.
He said ‘We have recognised that insecurity in some areas is a major challenge. We recognise that no election can be deemed successful if citizens or election personnel operate under threat. Working through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) alongside the Nigeria Police Force the Department of State Services (DSS) the NSCDC and the Armed Forces we have operationalised an intelligence-driven security architecture known as the ‘ICCES Tentacle.
‘This framework uses early risk-mapping tools to secure our 176846 polling units safeguard ad-hoc staff-particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)-and guarantee uninhibited access for all voters including Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)’ he said.
He noted that Nigeria as a founding member and steadfast pillar of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has long recognised that its national democratic stability is inextricably bound to the collective peace democratic consolidation and regional prosperity of West Africa.
He said that the presence of the group at the INEC headquarters is not a routine diplomatic engagement but as a testament to our shared commitment to upholding the highest standards of constitutional governance democratic integrity and peer accountability across our sub-region.
The INEC chairman emphasised that the 2027 General Election represents a pivotal milestone in Nigeria’s uninterrupted democratic journey since 1999 adding that in a sub-region currently navigating complex political transitions and security challenges a stable transparent and peaceful election in Nigeria remains a vital anchor for democratic governance across West Africa.
He told his visitors that the scale of this exercise is vast. Nigeria’s voter population has officially crossed the historic threshold with our National Register of Voters now standing at over 103 million registered citizens.
He said that the voter register is currently being displayed across the country and whatever discrepancies are noticed will be corrected and the register will be properly cleaned up for release on the 15th of December 2026.
He also disclosed that serve the electorate and the country the Commission will deploy personnel and technological assets across 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory covering 774 Local Government Areas 8809 Registration Areas (Wards) and 176846 Polling Units.
‘The Presidential and National Assembly Elections will hold on Saturday 16th January 2027 while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections is scheduled for Saturday 6th February 2027
‘To ensure operational readiness the Commission has adopted a hands-on field-first approach. We have moved away from administrative assumptions by personally conducting Zonal Readiness Assessment Tours across the geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
‘We have concluded the readiness assessments in the South-West North-West South-East North-East and we are heading to Port Harcourt Rivers State for the South-South edition. The zonal assessment offers us the opportunity to engage directly with field staff inspect logistics and infrastructure readiness and consult with traditional and community leaders’.
He said the zonal assessment visits are important because it will help the commission set the tone for the election and ensure that staff of the commission are reminded of the need to remain neutral as well as receive reports about their preparedness for the election.
He disclosed that during one of the zonal visits the commission discovered the need for early deployment because of the terrains in such areas as well as issues of insecurity prevalent in those areas.
He disclosed that the off-cycle and by elections conducted by the commission offered it the opportunity to put to test some of our plans as we prepare for the election especially our BVAS which makes the election more transparent as a result of the use of technology for the election.
He said ‘It was a good opportunity to test the BVAS again to avoid the glitch which we experienced in 2023 and transmission of results has been very effective in all these elections. It is the same experience we are taking to the general election because we believe that every election provides its own lessons.
‘The mistakes of the past will not be allowed to repeat itself. The mock accreditation exercise scheduled to take place sometimes in November is aimed at testing the BVAS for accreditation and transmission of results just to be sure that we have been able to cure the problem of glitch we had in 2023’.
According to the INEC Chairman out of the 14 major statutory milestones set out for the 2027 General Election the Commission has successfully executed nine of the schedule.
He said ‘following the completion of three structured phases of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise we recently concluded the physical display of the Preliminary Register of Voters at Registration Areas nationwide.
‘To complement this and ensure maximum public confidence we have also published the Preliminary Register on our dedicated online portal (display.inecnigeria.org) for public scrutiny claims and objections preparatory to the certification of the Final Register of Voters on 15th December 2026’.
He explained that the commission has received through the various Electoral Officers and Resident Electoral Commissioners about 600 complaints adding that the display of the register online further confirm such complaints and the commission is working to ensure that the complaints are properly addressed before the final display.
‘Technological discipline remains the cornerstone of public trust in our electoral process. The Commission has optimised our hardware and software suite. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) will be deployed for dual biometric accreditation (fingerprint and facial) while our electronic Result Management Systems-including the newly introduced eEC8A electronic verification platform-guarantee that results declared at polling units are transmitted transparently and verified via the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He also said that to ensure that results declared at the polling units are the ones transmitted to the IReV the commission has introduced some guards which include making sure that the results are authenticated at the polling unit before uploading them to the IRev.
‘Recognising that technology is only as reliable as the human beings operating it we have implemented sweeping staff welfare reforms. Under this administration we secured approval for the landmark Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS) completely pulling our workforce out of the regular civil service scale alongside a 150 per cent increase in state operational overheads.
‘In return we maintain a policy of zero tolerance for administrative negligence extortion or partisan compromise backed by mandatory Oaths of Neutrality under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026.
‘As we look ahead to the monumental task of 2027 there are specific areas where the continued partnership and collaboration of ECOWAS will be invaluable to our institutional mission. First we welcome the robust deployment of long-term and short-term ECOWAS Election Observation Missions whose independent and objective assessments lend vital international credibility to our democratic process.
‘Second we seek enhanced peer-learning and technical exchange regarding best practices in combating sophisticated electoral disinformation managing logistics in complex terrains and strengthening inclusive voter education.
‘We look to ECOWAS to maintain active diplomatic solidarity-engaging political actors civil society and key stakeholders to ensure that peace accords and democratic commitments undertaken in Nigeria resonate positively across the entire West African