The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has flagged 268 records in its preliminary Register of Voters over suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other irregularities as it intensifies efforts to sanitise the database ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission disclosed that its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) detected the questionable entries, which are currently undergoing further scrutiny to establish their authenticity.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, saying the commission had commenced the process of removing records confirmed to be fraudulent.
“What we are currently doing now is looking at all these 268 records that ABIS already flagged as AI-generated or even something of irregularities,” he said.
Bayode explained that some individuals allegedly exploited the special registration arrangement designed for persons with disabilities who have incomplete or missing fingers to create questionable voter profiles.
He, however, clarified that voters whose genuine photographs were merely enhanced using artificial intelligence applications would not be removed from the register.
According to him, only photographs established to have been entirely generated by AI would be disqualified.
“Those that we know it is the AI on the phone that helped enhance their pictures, we can’t exclude such people because it was the AI on the phone that does that.
“Such people will still be on the register, but those AI-generated photographs, all these will be removed. We are already looking at them,” he stated.
The development followed public outrage over the preliminary voter register published on INEC’s website on October 26, after screenshots showing suspicious photographs attached to voter records, particularly in parts of Edo State, circulated on social media.
The controversy also raised concerns over alleged multiple registrations, names of deceased persons appearing on the register and complaints by some eligible voters that their details were missing.
Reacting to the development, the Nigeria Democratic Congress vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, called for a thorough, transparent and independent investigation into the alleged irregularities.
Kwankwaso insisted that Nigerians deserved more than assurances from the electoral commission, demanding that the findings of the investigation be made public and anyone found culpable held accountable.
Similarly, political economist Pat Utomi warned that the discovery of suspected AI-generated photographs raised serious questions about INEC’s verification procedures, transparency and accountability.
The National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Dr Moses Paul, also demanded explanations from the commission, questioning how artificial intelligence-generated images found their way into a database meant to safeguard the country’s electoral process.
Also speaking, Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, Clement Nwankwo, expressed concern over the credibility of the voter register, particularly the reported increase in registered voters from more than 90 million to 103 million.
Nwankwo, in an interview on ARISE News, called on INEC to strengthen its verification procedures and improve communication with political parties ahead of the 2027 elections.
He warned that weaknesses in voter registration and polling unit transfer processes could disenfranchise eligible Nigerians.
Meanwhile, INEC has maintained that the preliminary register published online was the same document physically displayed at Registration Areas nationwide between October 9 and 15.
In a statement by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the commission explained that the online publication did not represent the conclusion of its ongoing data-cleanup exercise.
It stressed that the Display, Claims and Objections exercise was designed to allow Nigerians identify errors, report suspicious entries and request necessary corrections before the final certification of the register.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, also said the commission was examining the questionable records and would take appropriate corrective measures based on verified findings.
The commission is expected to conclude the verification, adjudication and data-cleanup exercises before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.
