The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the appearance of suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other irregularities in its preliminary register of voters to misconduct and lapses by some registration officers across the country.
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 officials allegedly used their access to the registration system to introduce questionable records into the database.
Bayode said INEC uncovered the irregularities through its Automated Biometric Identification System, which was deployed to examine the records and identify suspicious entries.
He explained that registration officers had individual login details that allowed them to access the system and register 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.
The ICT director clarified that although some of the suspicious photographs were generated using artificial intelligence, others resulted from 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 added.
Bayode said the commission had identified the questionable records and established how some of the irregularities were introduced, although he could not explain the motive 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 said.
He added that INEC had begun efforts to clean up the voters’ register before publishing its preliminary version, noting that the exercise was being carried out within the statutory 90-day period.
The disclosure comes amid public concerns over the credibility of the preliminary register after INEC uploaded it to its website on October 26.
The online publication triggered questions after screenshots circulated on social media showing voter records bearing photographs suspected to have been generated with artificial intelligence, particularly in parts of Edo State.
Other complaints included alleged duplicate registrations and reports from some voters who said they could not find their details on the online register.
INEC had earlier explained that the online version was the same preliminary register physically displayed at Registration Areas across the country from October 9 to 15 as part of the Display, Claims and Objections exercise.
In a statement issued on October 27, the commission acknowledged that questionable records had been identified and flagged during the physical display, adding that it had commenced a review and corrective process.
It also clarified that the published register was not the final certified version, noting that the online release did not capture all the data-cleanup activities still in progress.
The commission is expected to conclude its verification, adjudication and data-cleanup exercises before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.