The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uncovered irregularities allegedly introduced by some of its registration officers into the national voters’ database, including the use of suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs in voter records.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Arise Television, revealing that some registration officers allegedly exploited their access to the commission’s registration system to introduce questionable records.
According to Bayode, the commission discovered the irregularities after subjecting the preliminary register to its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
He explained that registration officers deployed across the country were issued login credentials to access the system and register eligible voters, but some allegedly abused the privilege.
“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.
Bayode disclosed that the questionable records included photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence, while others resulted from what he described as very poor 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,” he stated.
The ICT director added that INEC had identified the affected records and established how some of the irregularities were introduced, although the commission was yet to establish why the officers involved engaged in such practices.
“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 further explained that the commission had commenced efforts to sanitise the voters’ register even before making the preliminary version available to the public.
However, he noted that INEC was working under pressure to complete the exercise within the statutory 90-day timeframe.
The revelation comes amid growing public concerns over the credibility of the preliminary voters’ register uploaded to INEC’s website on October 26.
The controversy gained attention after photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence appeared alongside voter records in parts of Edo State, with some of the images subsequently circulating on social media.
Other reported irregularities included alleged duplicate voter entries and complaints from registered voters who claimed their personal details were missing from the online register.
INEC had previously clarified that the online publication was the same preliminary register physically displayed at Registration Areas across the country between October 9 and 15 as part of the Display, Claims and Objections exercise.
In a statement issued on October 27, the commission acknowledged identifying questionable records during the exercise, adding that it had flagged the affected entries and commenced a review and corrective process.
The electoral body also emphasised that the published register was not the final certified version, explaining that the online release did not capture all the data-cleaning activities still underway.
INEC is expected to conclude its verification, adjudication and data-cleanup exercises before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.
