AMUPITAN UNDER FIRE AS AI-GENERATED VOTERS FOUND ON VOTERS’ REGISTER

The Independent National Electoral Commission has failed to respond to enquiries after suspected artificial intelligence-generated images were discovered on multiple voters’ profiles in its online voters’ register, raising fresh questions about the integrity of the electoral database ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The INEC AI-generated images voters register scandal, first flagged by political economist Professor Pat Utomi and other Nigerians on social media, has sparked widespread outrage and calls for accountability, ValidViewNetwork reports .

THE DISCOVERY

Sahareporters observed the images while examining voter profiles on INEC’s official website, where several records appeared to contain photographs suspected of being artificially generated rather than authentic pictures of registered voters.

Among the profiles examined were those bearing the names Ealefoh Oritsenoma, Ebamenbhegbe Besi, Ebhohimen Godwin, Jacob Gabriel, Maniru Noah, Matthew Isaac and Odion Bibi.

The voter identification numbers displayed alongside the profiles were partially masked on the website.

The development has raised questions about the authenticity of photographs associated with voter records, the procedures used to verify submitted information, and the safeguards in place to prevent fabricated images from appearing in an official electoral database .

THE SOCIAL MEDIA OUTRAGE

Nigerians did not wait for INEC to speak before expressing their fury.

@Sule wrote: “Dear @inecnigeria can you explain why you have AI Generated images on the INEC Register in polling units in Ward 11, Etsako West LG, Edo State. We want explanation. Who infused AI generated images in the register? Who did the capturing? Who collected their pvcs if they have been collected? We want answers!!!!!” .

@Ken wrote: “INEC just committed an abomination. They have tampered with the voters register by inserting Ai generated voter’s profile. This is probably why they’ve refused to release the voters register for scrutiny. Amupitan must resign, INEC needs to be occupied…this country needs to be shut down till this madness is corrected” .

Another user, @Morris Monye, wrote: “This is how INEC wants to run the 2027 election and opposition are looking. Duplicate as many names as possible for multiple voting, flood the register with AI information. This is advanced level vote layering”.

PAT UTOMI’S WARNING

Professor Pat Utomi, a political economist and ADC chieftain, amplified the alarm on X, warning that the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral system was at stake.

“INEC cannot afford to be careless with the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process. The presence of AI-generated images in a register meant to support our democracy raises serious questions about verification, transparency and accountability. Our democracy is at stake here!” he wrote .

INEC’S SILENCE

Sahareporters contacted Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, for comments. Oketola did not answer repeated telephone calls and did not respond to a series of enquiries sent through WhatsApp, despite reading the messages.

The commission had not provided an explanation for the images as of the time of filing the report.

THE CONTEXT

The discovery comes as INEC prepares to deploy AI-powered tools into aspects of its electoral operations for 2027, including result verification and cybersecurity.

The commission had announced the establishment of a dedicated AI division within its ICT department and a five-pillar AI governance framework with mandatory human oversight .

INEC’s ICT Director, Lawrence Bayode, had also assured Nigerians that the current voters’ register was not the final version and would undergo claims and objections before being finalised one month before the election .

ADVERTISEMENT

But the discovery of suspected AI-generated images on the register has undermined those assurances.

WHY IT MATTERS

The voters’ register is the foundation of any credible election. If the register can be populated with synthetic images and duplicate profiles, the entire electoral process is compromised.INEC has spent months telling Nigerians to collect their PVCs, to trust the process, to believe that their votes will count.

The AI images on the register tell a different story: a story of a database that may have been infiltrated, manipulated, or simply neglected.

The commission’s silence is deafening. And the clock is ticking toward 2027.

The question is no longer whether INEC can conduct a free and fair election. The question is whether Nigerians can trust the register on which that election will be built.

If the commission cannot answer that question, the 2027 election will be contested not just at the ballot box, but in the courts and on the streets. ValidViewNetwork reports.