The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed some of its registration officers for introducing artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other questionable records into the preliminary Register of Voters ahead of the 2027 general election.

The commission said some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voter registration database, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral register.

INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Arise Television, explaining that the commission uncovered the irregularities through its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).

According to him, the system helped the commission identify questionable records and establish how some of the irregularities found their way into the database.

Bayode, however, said not all the suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from what he described as very poor registration procedures.

“We have registration officers on the field. And these registration officers, they have login details to log into the system.

“So what we have found 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 onto the register,” he said.

He added that the commission had identified the questionable records and understood how some of the irregularities occurred, although he could not establish the reasons behind the actions of the officers involved.

“Some of these pictures are AI-generated. Some of them not AI-generated, but very bad registration. And this thing got into the register by the registration officers and because they have access to register people,” Bayode said.

He added: “When the ABIS was run on the system, we saw these people. We know what they did. We know how they did it. But honestly, I don’t know why.”

The disclosure comes amid public outrage over suspicious photographs and other alleged irregularities discovered in INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters published on its website on October 26.

The controversy started after screenshots circulated on social media showing voter records with photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence in parts of Edo State.

A social media user, identified as Decosule, had raised questions over the photographs attached to voter records in Ward 11, Etsako West Local Government Area, and Udomi in Esan Central Local Government Area of the state.

The user questioned how the photographs found their way into the electoral database, who conducted the registration and whether Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) linked to the disputed records had been collected.

The development attracted wider attention, with political actors and other Nigerians demanding explanations from the electoral commission over the authenticity of the records and the safeguards around its voter registration process.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) also called on INEC to explain the appearance of the suspected AI-generated photographs, questioning who introduced the images into the register and whether the affected records represented genuine registered voters.

Other concerns raised by members of the public included alleged duplicate entries and complaints by some registered voters that their personal details were missing from the online register.

Responding to the controversy on October 27, INEC said it had identified and flagged several questionable registration records during the physical display of the preliminary register at Registration Areas nationwide between October 9 and 15.

In a statement issued by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the commission said it had commenced a review of the affected records and corrective measures in line with established procedures.

It explained that the register uploaded to its website on October 26 was the same preliminary register displayed physically across the country and that the online publication did not reflect all ongoing data-cleanup activities.

The commission also said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the suspicious photographs, including possible technical or procedural lapses, promising to take appropriate action based on verified findings.

INEC stressed that the preliminary register was not the final certified Register of Voters, explaining that the Display, Claims and Objections exercise was designed to enable citizens to scrutinise the records, identify inaccuracies and report questionable entries before certification.

The commission is expected to complete its verification, adjudication and data-cleanup processes before certifying the final Register of Voters on December 15, 2026.