The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has flagged 268 voter records over suspected use of artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other irregularities as it begins a comprehensive review of the preliminary Register of Voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
He explained that the affected records were identified through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
Bayode said the commission had commenced an examination of all 268 entries to determine those containing entirely AI-generated photographs or other forms of manipulation, adding that appropriate corrective measures would be taken after the verification process.
“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.
He also expressed concern over the alleged abuse of the special registration provision designed to accommodate persons with disabilities, particularly those with incomplete fingers or no fingers.
According to him, investigations revealed that some individuals might have exploited the provision by using official credentials to create questionable voter profiles, an irregularity subsequently detected by the commission’s biometric identification system.
However, Bayode clarified that the commission would not automatically disqualify voters whose photographs had been enhanced using artificial intelligence-powered applications.
He explained that INEC recognised the distinction between photographs entirely generated by AI and genuine images that had merely undergone enhancement through artificial intelligence tools available on mobile phones.
“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,” he said.
He maintained that only photographs established to have been artificially generated would be removed from the register, assuring that the commission had already begun addressing the identified cases.
The development comes amid public scrutiny of INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters, which was uploaded to its website on October 26, following the nationwide display of the register for claims and objections.
The publication triggered reactions on social media, with screenshots circulating that purportedly showed questionable photographs attached to some voter records, including entries reportedly associated with parts of Edo State.
The controversy also brought renewed attention to allegations of multiple voter registrations and reports that the names of deceased persons had appeared in the register.
INEC had explained that the online version was the same preliminary register physically displayed at Registration Areas across the country between October 9 and 15, in line with the commission’s statutory process for public scrutiny.
The commission emphasised that the published register was not the final certified document, noting that the display exercise was specifically designed to enable Nigerians to identify errors, report questionable entries and challenge inaccuracies before its finalisation.
It said the verification, adjudication and data-cleaning exercises would be concluded before the final Register of Voters is certified on December 15, 2026.