The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed the appearance of questionable photographs in its provisional voters’ database to alleged irregularities involving some officials responsible for registering eligible Nigerians.
The commission disclosed that certain personnel reportedly took advantage of their access to the electoral database to submit entries containing suspicious photographs, including images believed to have been created with artificial intelligence.
The revelation was made by INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, during a Friday interview with Arise Television.
Bayode said the electoral body uncovered the questionable submissions while conducting a nationwide examination of its records through the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
He explained that the screening exercise exposed several violations involving registration personnel in different parts of the country.
According to him, officials assigned to voter enrolment centres have individual credentials for accessing the commission’s registration platform. However, some allegedly misused these privileges to introduce information that did not satisfy the prescribed requirements.
The director clarified that not every suspicious photograph was produced using artificial intelligence. He explained that certain images were AI-generated, while others were products of substandard registration practices.
He added that the commission had successfully traced several questionable entries and established the methods through which they were submitted, although the reasons behind the alleged misconduct remained unclear.
Bayode maintained that INEC was taking steps to examine the affected records and eliminate inaccuracies before producing the final voters’ register.
The issue became a subject of public debate after the commission released its preliminary electoral database on its website on October 26, 2026.
Following the publication, several users of social media drew attention to unusual photographs appearing alongside the personal information of registered voters.
Some of the images, reportedly identified in records from Edo State, generated concerns about the reliability of INEC’s registration procedures.
Beyond the disputed photographs, Nigerians also reported cases of alleged duplicate enrolments and missing particulars belonging to people who had previously registered.
INEC subsequently addressed the complaints in a statement issued on October 27, clarifying that the internet version was the same preliminary document earlier made available for inspection at designated locations nationwide.
The commission emphasised that the publication did not represent a newly compiled database, adding that its verification and correction exercise was still ongoing.
It explained that the public inspection process was established to enable citizens to confirm their registration information, report mistakes and submit objections against questionable entries.
The physical verification exercise took place between October 9 and 15, 2026, across Registration Areas in compliance with Section 19 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
To expand access to the document, INEC subsequently provided an electronic verification portal through which registered voters could examine their details without visiting designated centres.
The commission reiterated its commitment to investigating the reported breaches, correcting established errors and ensuring that only eligible voters with valid records are included in the final database ahead of the 2027 general elections.
