The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photographs and other irregularities in its preliminary register of voters to alleged misconduct by some registration officers across the country.
The commission said some officials allegedly 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, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television, explaining that investigations showed that some registration officers used their login credentials to upload suspicious photographs and other irregular entries into the register.
According to him, the commission detected 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,” Bayode 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.”
He explained that while some of the suspicious photographs appeared to have been generated using AI, others resulted from 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.
Bayode said the commission had identified the questionable records and established how some of the irregularities were introduced into the system, although it had yet to determine the motives 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,” he added.
He maintained that INEC had begun efforts to sanitise the voters’ register, noting that the commission was working under pressure to complete the exercise within the statutory 90-day period.
The disclosure comes amid growing public concerns over the credibility of the voters’ register following the circulation of suspicious photographs, alleged multiple registrations and other discrepancies.
The controversy followed INEC’s publication of the preliminary register on its official website on October 26, with screenshots subsequently circulating on social media showing photographs suspected to have been AI-generated attached to voter records.
Some Nigerians also 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, assuring Nigerians that a review was underway and corrective measures would be taken.
The commission stressed that the published register was provisional and should not be mistaken for the final certified list of eligible voters, adding that verification and data-cleanup activities were still ongoing.
INEC is expected to conclude the verification, adjudication and data-cleanup processes before certifying the final register of voters on December 15, 2026.
Atiku Demands Identification, Prosecution of Officials
Meanwhile, former Vice-President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called on INEC to identify and prosecute officials allegedly responsible for introducing irregularities into the voters’ register.
Atiku described the commission’s disclosure as a serious failure of electoral safeguards and demanded an independent forensic audit of the register.
He made the demands through the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.
The former vice-president also claimed that more than 20 million AI-generated images might be involved, urging INEC to preserve all voter records, image files, access logs and audit trails for independent 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 the commission for acknowledging that some officials had manipulated the register without publicly identifying those involved or explaining the circumstances surrounding the alleged misconduct.
He challenged INEC’s leadership to disclose the evidence, identify the officials concerned and explain whether disciplinary or legal action had been taken against them.
“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 ADC chieftain also cautioned against correcting 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 added.
Atiku further accused INEC of failing to address opposition parties’ demands for disclosure of the companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials.
He argued that transparency over the contractors and the safeguards governing their work was necessary to build confidence in the electoral process, adding that opposition parties should have access to the same information available to the ruling 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.
He called on opposition leaders and the international community to demand an independent audit, full disclosure and accountability from the electoral commission.
The ADC campaign council maintained that the credibility of the 2027 general elections would depend, among other things, on INEC’s willingness to identify those responsible for the alleged irregularities and subject the register to independent scrutiny.
Amupitan Assures Nigerians of Improved 2027 Elections
In a separate development, INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has assured Nigerians that the commission is working with relevant stakeholders to ensure that mistakes recorded in previous elections are not repeated in the 2027 general elections.
Amupitan gave the assurance when the ECOWAS Fact-Finding Mission for the 2027 general elections visited the commission, stressing that the successful conduct of the polls required collective responsibility and cooperation among political parties, civil society organisations, the media and security agencies.
He said political parties must uphold internal democracy and peaceful campaigns, civil society organisations should promote voter education, media organisations should help combat fake news and digital disinformation, while security agencies must provide neutral protection.
The INEC chairman acknowledged that insecurity and electoral violence in some parts of the country remained challenges to the successful conduct of the elections.
He said the commission was working with the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Armed Forces to address security concerns.
“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,” he said.
Amupitan explained that the commission had operationalised an intelligence-driven security framework known as the ICCES Tentacle to identify and address potential threats ahead of the elections.
According to him, the framework uses early risk-mapping tools to secure the country’s 176,846 polling units, protect ad-hoc election personnel, particularly members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), and ensure access for all voters, including persons with disabilities.
He described the 2027 general elections as an important milestone in Nigeria’s democratic journey since 1999, noting that the country’s democratic stability also had implications for peace and governance across West Africa.
Amupitan disclosed that Nigeria’s National Register of Voters had crossed 103 million, adding that the preliminary register was undergoing public scrutiny and that identified discrepancies would be corrected before the final register was certified on December 15, 2026.
He said INEC would deploy personnel and technological resources across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, covering 774 local government areas, 8,809 Registration Areas and 176,846 polling units.
According to the timetable announced by the chairman, the presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2027, while the governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold on Saturday, February 6, 2027.
The INEC boss also said the commission had adopted a field-based approach to assess its preparedness, adding that readiness assessment tours had been completed in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East geopolitical zones, with the South-South assessment scheduled to take place in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said the visits had provided opportunities to engage field officers, inspect logistics and infrastructure, consult traditional and community leaders and identify areas requiring early deployment because of difficult terrain and security concerns.
Amupitan further said recent off-cycle and by-elections had provided opportunities to test the commission’s preparations, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results.
He recalled the technical challenges experienced during the 2023 general elections, saying the commission was taking lessons from subsequent elections to improve its systems.
“The mistakes of the past will not be allowed to repeat itself. The mock accreditation exercise scheduled to take place sometime 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,” he said.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the commission had completed nine of the 14 major statutory milestones for the 2027 elections, following the completion of three phases of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and the physical display of the preliminary register nationwide.
He added that the preliminary register had also been published online to enable Nigerians to scrutinise their details and submit claims and objections before the final certification.
According to him, INEC had received about 600 complaints through electoral officers and resident electoral commissioners, adding that the commission was working to address them before the final register is released.
On election technology, Amupitan said BVAS would be used for fingerprint and facial biometric accreditation, while the commission’s electronic result management systems, including the newly introduced eEC8A electronic verification platform, would support the verification and transmission of results through the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
He also said additional safeguards had been introduced to ensure that results declared at polling units were authenticated before being uploaded to the IReV portal.
The chairman further disclosed that the commission had secured approval for a new Consolidated Election Management Body Salary Structure (CEMBSS), alongside a 150 per cent increase in state operational overheads, as part of efforts to improve staff welfare and strengthen institutional performance.
He said INEC maintained zero tolerance for administrative negligence, extortion and partisan compromise, adding that staff were required to take Oaths of Neutrality under Section 26 of the Electoral Act 2026.
Amupitan also called for continued cooperation with ECOWAS, particularly through the deployment of election observers, technical exchanges on electoral disinformation, logistics management and inclusive voter education.