2027 Election: INEC Confesses Officials Tampered With Voter Register, Atiku Moves Against Commission

…ICT Director Reveals Registration Officers Introduced AI-Generated Images, Other Irregularities Nationwide

…Former VP Demands Independent Forensic Probe, Insists Culprits Must Be Named

…Threatens Lawsuit Over Secrecy Surrounding Companies Handling Sensitive Election Materials

Daud Olatunji

The Independent National Electoral Commission has admitted that some of its registration officers across the country introduced irregularities, including artificial intelligence-generated photographs, into Nigeria’s national voter register, triggering fresh demands for accountability and an independent forensic audit ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The admission has prompted former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to demand the immediate identification and prosecution of officials responsible for the alleged manipulation, warning that the controversy could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.

INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, disclosed the involvement of registration officers during an interview with ARISE Television on Friday.

Bayode explained that some registration officers had exploited their authorised login credentials to introduce questionable photographs and other irregularities into the voter registration database.

According to him, the problem was not limited to AI-generated photographs, as investigators also discovered duplicate entries and images that did not meet acceptable registration standards.

“I can tell you how AI-generated photos found their way into the register. Number one, you know, we have registration officers on the field, and these registration officers have login details to log into the system.

“So what we have found out 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 into the register,” Bayode said.

The ICT director disclosed that the commission had commenced efforts to clean up the database, adding that its review had uncovered different categories of irregularities.

“So, we’re cleaning up; we’re seeing a lot of things, different people doing different things, some of them similar. Some of these pictures are AI-generated, some of them not AI-generated, but very bad registration.

“This thing got into the register by the registration officers, and because they have access to register people,” he added.

The development followed public concerns over AI-generated photographs and multiple registration entries discovered in INEC’s preliminary voter register published online earlier in October.

The controversy has raised questions about the commission’s verification procedures, internal security controls and the integrity of the database expected to guide the 2027 elections.

Reacting to the admission, Atiku described the development as a serious breach of public trust, arguing that the commission responsible for protecting Nigerians’ votes had acknowledged that its own personnel abused the system entrusted to them.

In a statement issued on Friday by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council, the former Vice-President accused INEC of failing to provide satisfactory explanations about the alleged manipulation.

“INEC has admitted that some AI-generated images are on the voter register and that registration officers introduced irregularities across the country.

“The commission charged with protecting Nigerians’ votes has acknowledged that its own system was abused by those entrusted to operate it. This is a catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards,” Atiku said.