The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the appearance of artificial intelligence-generated photographs and questionable entries in its preliminary register of voters to misconduct by field registration officers who abused their system access.
Dr. Lawrence Bayode, INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, revealed the findings during an appearance on Arise Television on Friday. He explained that certain registration personnel nationwide used their official login credentials to input unauthorized and manipulated records into the central database.
The irregularities were flagged by the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) during internal data verification runs.
“We have registration officers on the field, and these registration officers 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, but some across the states nationwide—have done different things to bring these irregularities onto the register.”
AI Manipulations and Poor Field Procedures
Bayode noted that the compromised entries stemmed from a mix of deliberate technology manipulation and sub-standard field practices.
“Some of these pictures are AI-generated. Some of them are not AI-generated, but very bad registration,” he explained. “This got into the register through the registration officers because they have access to register people.”
While the commission’s system successfully identified the compromised profiles and traced the credentials used, Bayode stated that the motive behind the officers’ actions remains under investigation.
“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 noted that INEC had been actively cleaning up the database prior to publishing the preliminary register, operating under tight statutory timelines that require the process to be completed within 90 days.
Public Backlash and Next Steps
The ICT director’s comments come amid mounting public scrutiny following INEC’s online publication of the preliminary voter register on October 26. Social media users quickly raised alarms after spotting obvious AI-generated portraits attached to voter records in Edo State, alongside reports of duplicate entries and missing voter details.
Addressing the public outcry, INEC reiterated that the online database is identical to the preliminary register displayed physically at Registration Areas across the country from October 9 to 15 during the statutory Claims and Objections window.
In a statement issued on October 27, the commission clarified that the online release represents an uncertified draft and does not reflect ongoing backend remediation. INEC confirmed that questionable entries flagged during both physical displays and digital audits are being reviewed and purged.
The commission is scheduled to complete all verification, adjudication, and data-cleanup exercises ahead of certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.
