The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other questionable records in its preliminary voters’ register to irregularities allegedly introduced by some registration officers.
The commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Arise Television, explaining that some registration officers allegedly used their authorised login details to introduce irregular records into the voter registration database.
Bayode said INEC discovered the questionable entries after running its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) to examine the registration data and identify irregularities.
He explained that registration officers deployed across the country had access to the system through individual login credentials, which some allegedly used to introduce questionable information.
“We have registration officers on the field. And these registration officers, they have login details to log into the system.
“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 said.
According to the ICT director, the irregularities were not limited to photographs generated through artificial intelligence, as some records also contained poor-quality images resulting from improper registration procedures.
“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,” Bayode explained.
He added that the commission had identified the questionable records and established how some of the irregularities entered the database, although he could not explain the reasons behind the actions of the officers 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.
Bayode said INEC had started cleaning up the voters’ register before releasing its preliminary version, noting that the commission was working within the statutory 90-day period provided for the exercise.
The disclosure follows public criticism of the preliminary register uploaded to INEC’s website on October 26, after screenshots showing suspicious photographs attached to voter records circulated on social media.
Some of the images reportedly raised concerns about possible AI-generated photographs in parts of Edo State. Other complaints involved alleged duplicate registrations and claims by some voters that their personal details were missing from the online register.
INEC had earlier clarified that the online publication was the same preliminary register physically displayed at Registration Areas across the country between October 9 and 15 for the Display, Claims and Objections exercise.
In a statement issued on October 27, the commission acknowledged that some questionable entries had been identified and flagged during the physical display, adding that it had commenced a review and corrective process.
The electoral body also explained that the published register was not the final certified version, stressing that the online release did not represent the completion of all verification and data-cleanup activities.
INEC is expected to conclude the verification, adjudication and correction of the records before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.
The development has renewed attention on the integrity of Nigeria’s voter registration process, particularly the need for proper supervision of registration officers and effective safeguards against the introduction of false or duplicate records.
The commission’s final register is expected to reflect the outcome of the ongoing review and corrections before it is certified for electoral use.
