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| Former Vice President — Abubakar Atiku |
The controversy over suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other irregularities in the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) preliminary voter’s register has escalated into a sharp political confrontation, with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, demanding that the electoral body publicly name the officers responsible, disclose contractors handling sensitive election materials, and submit the entire database to an independent forensic audit.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Friday, 30 October 2026, by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku described INEC’s admission of internal failures as “a catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards.” He warned that quiet data clean-up without transparency would bury evidence rather than restore confidence, insisting that allegations of widespread anomalies—including claims that more than 20 million AI-generated images may be involved—require rigorous external scrutiny.
“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,” Atiku stated. He specifically criticised INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan and the commission’s ICT Director, Dr Lawrence Bayode, for acknowledging the “how” while claiming ignorance of the “why,” calling it “a disgraceful evasion, not an answer.”
Atiku argued that even ordinary WhatsApp, Facebook or email accounts appear to have stronger security safeguards than those described for a national database holding the voting records of over 100 million Nigerians. He demanded the identities of every implicated officer, their suspension and prosecution, the preservation of all records, image files, access logs and audit trails, and the involvement of accredited independent experts, political parties, civil society organisations and international observers. No disputed record, he insisted, should be certified until the audit is complete. He further linked the issue to ongoing opacity around contractors for sensitive election materials, vowing legal action if disclosure is refused. “Name the culprits, expose the contractors and submit the register and election materials to independent scrutiny. Until then, its assurances are worthless. The credibility of the 2027 election is on the line.”
How the Scandal Unfolded
The preliminary register was published online by INEC on 26 October 2026, following a physical display and claims-and-objections exercise at Registration Areas nationwide between 9 and 15 October. INEC has emphasised that this version is not the final certified register, scheduled for 15 December 2026, and that data clean-up was already underway. The commission reported adding more than nine million new registrations to the roughly 93 million from the 2023 elections, bringing the announced total above 103 million.
Public alarm erupted almost immediately as social media users, including accounts highlighting entries from polling units in Etsako West Local Government Area (particularly Ward 11 and related booths in Uzairue South East) and Esan Central in Edo State, shared screenshots of multiple voter profiles sharing near-identical or clearly synthetic-looking faces.
Some profiles showed the same base image altered to appear male or female across different names. Concerns also included alleged duplicate entries, names of deceased persons, and complaints of missing legitimate registrations.
INEC initially responded by noting that questionable records had been flagged during the physical display and that investigations into technical or procedural lapses were ongoing. On 30 October, Bayode provided a more detailed explanation on Arise Television. He stated that some registration officers across multiple states had used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the system. “Some of these pictures are AI-generated.
Some of them are 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,” he said. Running the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) had allowed the commission to identify the officers and the methods used: “We know what they did.
We know how they did it, but honestly, I don’t know why.” Bayode stressed that INEC itself had not deployed AI for voter registration (though it uses AI tools for other purposes such as chatbots and logistics) and that clean-up efforts continued under statutory timelines.
Broader Context and Systemic Issues
This episode does not exist in isolation. Nigeria’s voter registration processes have long faced challenges of incomplete data, multiple registrations, and logistical difficulties in a country of vast geographic and demographic complexity.
Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercises, biometric capture via the INEC Voter Enrolment Device, and subsequent ABIS checks are intended to mitigate fraud, yet the reliance on thousands of field registration officers creates inherent points of vulnerability. Login credentials grant significant access; weak monitoring, inadequate real-time anomaly detection, or insufficient oversight can allow both deliberate insertion of synthetic data and simple procedural failures (poor-quality photographs, incomplete biometrics) to enter the system.
The timing is particularly sensitive. The 2027 general elections are approaching, and trust in INEC remains fragile following controversies surrounding the 2023 polls. Opposition parties, including the ADC, had already pressed INEC earlier in October to properly display the full register online during the claims period, citing empty portal pages and conflicting timelines as breaches of the Electoral Act.
Atiku’s earlier interventions focused on transparency of the 103-million figure itself. Parallel concerns have arisen over personnel redeployments within key INEC departments and the identity of contractors for ballot papers and other sensitive materials, with Atiku previously demanding public disclosure of companies, procurement processes and safeguards.
Other political actors have echoed calls for accountability. Parties across the spectrum have demanded independent probes, forensic audits, and, in some cases, stronger sanctions. Civil society and citizen monitors have highlighted the risk that undetected anomalies could enable manipulation long before polling day.
At the same time, INEC’s creation of an AI division for results verification and anomaly detection—announced earlier in October—illustrates the dual-edged nature of the technology: while generative AI can fabricate images that infiltrate registration systems, the same tools are being positioned by the commission as instruments for detecting fraud in later stages of the electoral cycle.
Analysis: Accountability, Technology and Democratic Trust
Atiku’s demand to “name the culprits” goes beyond partisan rhetoric. When an institution tasked with safeguarding the franchise admits that its own officers compromised the foundational voter database, the failure is institutional rather than merely individual. Knowing the method without knowing (or disclosing) the motive, or without visible consequences, invites suspicion that the problem is either more widespread or more tolerated than acknowledged. Claims of “more than 20 million” affected images remain unverified public allegations rather than confirmed INEC figures; however, even a far smaller number of synthetic or irregular entries, if concentrated in strategic locations, could distort outcomes or erode legitimacy.
The episode also underscores the challenge of securing large-scale digital identity systems in environments with limited continuous oversight.
ABIS detected the anomalies after the fact, which is useful for clean-up but insufficient as a preventive control. Stronger real-time validation, multi-factor authentication for field officers, stricter audit logging, and independent monitoring of registration centres could reduce such risks. Publishing aggregate data on the number, geographic distribution and nature of flagged records—without compromising individual privacy—would allow stakeholders to assess the true scale.
For the 2027 process, the December certification deadline is now a critical test. An independent forensic audit involving technical experts, parties and observers, combined with transparent disciplinary action and full disclosure of material contractors, would demonstrate seriousness.
Failure to do so risks deepening the perception that the register can be quietly adjusted rather than rigorously verified. As Atiku noted, a democracy cannot rest on an unexplained database. Nigerians deserve a voter register whose integrity can withstand independent examination, not merely official assurances that problems are being fixed behind closed doors.
The coming weeks will reveal whether INEC treats this as an opportunity to strengthen institutional safeguards or allows the controversy to further undermine the already fragile foundation of electoral trust.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers Global, News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Politics and Technology.
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