Name, prosecute officials behind AI-generated images in voter register, Atiku tells INEC
By OUR REPORTER
Atiku described INEC’s admission that some registration officers introduced questionable records into the voter database as a “catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards”.
Former Vice President of Nigeria and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has demanded that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) identify and prosecute officials who allegedly introduced artificial intelligence-generated images and other irregularities into the voter register ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Atiku also called on the electoral commission to disclose the companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials, warning that secrecy surrounding the contracts could undermine confidence in the polls.
In a statement issued on Friday, October 30, 2026, by his campaign council’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described INEC’s admission that some registration officers introduced questionable records into the voter database as a “catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards”.
The controversy followed the publication of INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters online on October 26, which exposed suspicious photographs, duplicate entries and other questionable records, including images that appeared to have been generated using artificial intelligence.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, had disclosed on Arise Television that some registration officers abused their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the database.
Bayode said the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) detected the questionable entries and helped establish how some of them were introduced.
“We know what they did. We know how they did it. But honestly, I don’t know why,” he said.
Reacting, Atiku questioned why INEC could identify how its officers manipulated the register but had yet to disclose their identities or explain why they had not been suspended and prosecuted.
“Professor Joash Amupitan through Boyode Lawrence says INEC knows what its officers did and how they tampered with the register, yet claims it does not know why. That is a disgraceful evasion, not an answer,” he said.
He also questioned the security of INEC’s voter-registration database, saying the safeguards described by the commission’s ICT director appeared inadequate.
“How can the database holding the votes of millions of Nigerians be less secure than a personal social media account?” he asked.
Atiku demanded that INEC disclose the evidence surrounding the alleged manipulation and conduct an independent forensic audit of the voter register, particularly over claims that more than 20 million AI-generated images may have entered the database.
“INEC must not quietly ‘clean up’ the register and bury the evidence. The allegation that more than 20 million AI generated images may be involved demands an independent forensic audit,” he said.
He called for the preservation of voter records, image files, access logs and other audit trails, urging independent experts, political parties, civil society organisations and international observers to participate in examining the evidence.
“No disputed record should be certified until the audit is complete,” he added.
The former vice president also accused INEC of ignoring opposition parties’ demands for the disclosure of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls.
He insisted that the contractors’ identities and the safeguards governing their work must be made public.
“If the APC government knows who is handling these materials and what protocols apply, opposition parties must receive the same information. Publish the contractors’ identities and explain the safeguards governing their work,” he said.
Atiku warned that he would seek judicial intervention if INEC refused to provide the requested information.
“If INEC refuses to disclose the truth, we will go to court and compel it. Every official found to have tampered with the register must be prosecuted,” he said.
INEC has maintained that the disputed entries appeared in the preliminary register and that its ongoing review would address the irregularities before the final register is certified on December 15, 2026. The commission has said the online version published on October 26 did not reflect all the data-cleanup activities already underway.
