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 ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, saying the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) detected the questionable records for further examination.
Bayode said INEC had commenced the process of cleaning up the affected records, adding that the commission was reviewing each of the 268 entries to determine the nature of the irregularities and take appropriate action.
He also raised concerns over the alleged misuse of a special registration option designed for persons with disabilities who have incomplete or missing fingers. According to him, the provision may have been exploited to create questionable voter profiles.
However, the INEC official clarified that the commission would not remove genuine voter photographs simply because they had been enhanced using artificial intelligence. He explained that only photographs determined to have been entirely generated by AI would be removed from the register.
The development follows the publication of INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters online on October 26, which triggered public concerns after screenshots showing suspicious photographs attached to some voter records circulated on social media, including entries reportedly from parts of Edo State.
The controversy has also raised concerns about alleged duplicate registrations, the appearance of names of deceased persons and reports from some registered voters that their details were missing from the online register.
INEC has stressed that the published document is not the final certified Register of Voters. The commission said the Display, Claims and Objections exercise is intended to allow Nigerians to identify inaccuracies and questionable entries and submit complaints before the register is finalised.
The commission is expected to complete its verification, adjudication and data-cleanup processes before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026, as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.