The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has blamed some of its registration officers for introducing suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs and other irregularities into the preliminary voters’ register.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, disclosed this on Friday during an interview on Arise Television, explaining that some registration officers allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce questionable records into the commission’s database.
Bayode said the irregularities were uncovered through the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which was deployed to scrutinise voter registration records.
He explained that while some of the questionable photographs were AI-generated, others resulted from poor registration procedures, noting that officers with access to the system were responsible for introducing some of the irregularities.
According to him, the commission has identified the affected records and established how some of the anomalies occurred, although the motives behind the actions of the officers remain unclear.
He added that INEC had commenced efforts to clean up the register ahead of the publication of its preliminary version, within the statutory 90-day period for the exercise.
The disclosure follows public concerns over suspicious photographs, alleged duplicate entries and missing voter details in the preliminary voters’ register uploaded to INEC’s website on October 26.
INEC’s response comes amid growing calls for transparency and accuracy in the voter registration process ahead of future elections.