INEC confirms its officials tampered with voter register

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has admitted that some of its officials tampered with the voter register nationwide using AI-generated photos, Peoples Gazette reported. Lawrence Bayode, INEC’s ICT director, made the admission in an interview with ARISE TV on Friday.

Mr Bayode said registration officers on the field hold login details to the system, and that some of them, across the states, introduced the irregularities. “This thing got into the register by the registration officers, and because they have access to register people,” he said.

Mr Bayode said INEC had begun cleaning up the register, noting: “Some of these pictures are AI-generated, some of them not AI-generated, but very bad registration.” The AI-generated photos and several cases of duplication found in the voter register sparked public uproar and questions about its fidelity as Nigerians prepare for general elections scheduled for next year. INEC admitted irregularities in the preliminary register published online earlier this month and said it was investigating.