The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to assist in identifying discrepancies in election result records ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday in Ottawa, Canada, while addressing the Global Conference on Responsible AI and Elections.

Amupitan said the initiative formed part of INEC’s broader efforts to institutionalise the responsible use of AI in electoral administration and improve the credibility and efficiency of the electoral process.

He explained that the Commission had introduced an intelligent Results Management process designed to assist election officials in detecting discrepancies in election result records.

The INEC chairman, however, stressed that the use of AI would remain subject to human oversight, insisting that technology must complement rather than replace electoral institutions and officials.

“AI must strengthen electoral integrity, improve public service, and always remain under human control,” he said.

Amupitan said the increasing influence of algorithms and data systems on democratic processes made it necessary for election management bodies to establish strong institutional safeguards around the deployment of emerging technologies.

According to him, Nigeria’s experience with electoral technology has shown the importance of using innovation to reduce human error and minimise opportunities for manual interference.

He cited the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and the Automated Biometrics Identification System (ABIS) as some of the technologies already adopted by the Commission.

He said the scale of Nigeria’s electoral operations made technology indispensable, noting that the country has more than 93 million registered voters, approximately 180,000 polling units and about 185,000 BVAS devices, with elections conducted simultaneously across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The chairman said the Commission was therefore approaching AI adoption as an institutional reform rather than merely an Information and Communication Technology project.

He disclosed that INEC had established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and developed an AI Roadmap for phased adoption of the technology.

He added that the Commission had also developed an AI Governance Framework, which is currently undergoing internal approval, while AI literacy and technical capacity-building programmes had commenced among staff.

Amupitan said the initiative involved several departments, including ICT, Operations, Legal, Voter Education and Risk Management, to ensure that AI deployment reflected the wider responsibilities of election administration.

He identified five principles guiding INEC’s AI initiatives as human oversight; transparency and accountability; data protection and privacy; cybersecurity and risk management; and operational value and public trust.

He said the Commission would continue to assess the usefulness and risks associated with AI before deploying the technology across additional areas of electoral administration.

The INEC chairman also outlined the legal framework guiding the Commission’s adoption of technology, citing the Constitution, Electoral Act 2026, INEC Regulations, Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and Cybercrimes Act 2024.

He particularly referenced provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 covering the voters’ register, electronic voting devices, biometric accreditation, electronic transmission of results and the use of accredited and transmitted results in the collation and declaration of election results.

Amupitan said the objective was not to allow AI to make electoral decisions independently but to provide election officials with additional tools to identify possible errors and improve the integrity of electoral processes.

“Responsible AI begins with institutional readiness — not technology,” he said.

The chairman was accompanied at the conference by INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode.