INEC Traces AI-Generated Voter Photos to Registration Officers

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has traced suspicious photographs and other irregularities in its preliminary register of voters to alleged misconduct by some registration officers who had access to its registration system.

INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Arise Television. He said some officers across the country allegedly used their login details to introduce questionable records into the voter database.

How INEC Discovered the Irregularities

According to Bayode, the commission identified the suspicious records through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which was used to examine the register.

He explained that some of the photographs were AI-generated, while others resulted from poor registration procedures. He added that INEC had identified the questionable records and understood how some of the irregularities occurred, although the reasons behind the actions of the officers involved remained unclear.

Concerns Over the Preliminary Voters’ Register

The disclosure follows public concerns after INEC uploaded its preliminary register of voters to its website on October 26.

Screenshots circulated on social media showed photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence attached to voter records in parts of Edo State. Other complaints involved alleged duplicate entries and reports from some registered voters who could not find their details on the online register.

INEC had earlier explained that the online version was the same preliminary register displayed physically at Registration Areas nationwide from October 9 to 15 for the Display, Claims and Objections exercise.

INEC Begins Data Cleanup Ahead of Final Register

The commission said it had identified and flagged questionable records during the physical display and had commenced a review and corrective process.

Bayode noted that INEC had been working to clean up the register even before releasing the preliminary version, while also facing the statutory 90-day timeline for completing the exercise.

INEC stressed that the published register was not the final certified version and did not reflect all ongoing data-cleanup activities. The commission is expected to complete its verification, adjudication and correction processes before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.

Punch Newspapers