The Independent National Electoral Commission has come under scrutiny after Nigerians reported alleged irregularities, including suspected artificial intelligence-generated photographs, duplicate records and entries bearing the names of deceased persons, in the preliminary register of voters for the 2027 general elections.
The concerns emerged on Tuesday, a day after the commission published the register online following public criticism over its accessibility.
Screenshots shared on social media purportedly showed voter records from Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State containing photographs suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence.
Other users alleged that the register contained duplicate entries, while some Nigerians claimed to have discovered the names of deceased relatives among registered voters.
One social media user alleged that the system flagged a duplicate record while the individual was registering for a Permanent Voter Card.
According to the user, the record contained the same name, date of birth, state and National Identification Number as theirs but had a different photograph, gender and local government area.
An official of the commission was alleged to have attributed the duplicate entry to coincidence, despite the records reportedly sharing the same NIN.
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The development comes after the commission announced on Monday that it had uploaded the preliminary register to its online platform following calls from Nigerians and political stakeholders for wider access.
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, was among those who had called on the electoral body to make the register available online.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, said the decision was intended to promote transparency, accessibility and public confidence in the electoral process.
“Accordingly, and in furtherance of its commitment to transparency, accessibility and public confidence in the electoral process, the Commission has decided to make available on its online platform https://display.inecnigeria.org the same Preliminary Register of Voters earlier displayed at the Registration Areas,” the statement read.
The commission said the preliminary register was physically displayed at registration areas nationwide from October 9 to 15 in accordance with Section 19 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The exercise was intended to enable registered voters to verify their particulars and submit claims and objections regarding omissions or inaccuracies in their records.
INEC said it was processing the claims and objections received during the exercise ahead of the certification and publication of the final register of voters on December 15, 2026.
The online publication followed concerns over the accessibility of the register, with reports indicating that the commission had missed the statutory deadline for making it available on its website for public scrutiny.
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