The Independent National Electoral Commission says it has removed artificial intelligence-generated photographs discovered on the national voters’ register and identified officials implicated in the practice across 10 states.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday during a webinar organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation.
The webinar, themed ‘AI, Misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Safeguarding the Truth, Protecting the Vote’, examined the growing influence of artificial intelligence on Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Haruna described the discovery of AI-generated images on the voters’ register as a significant challenge, noting that the commission had already taken steps to remove the affected photographs.
He said, “A lot of AI-generated photographs were posted onto the voters’ register, which, as we have said, we have had to take down.”
The commissioner explained that although INEC might find it difficult to prevent members of the public from digitally altering their photographs before uploading them, it had the authority to investigate and sanction its personnel involved in such misconduct.
According to him, the affected officials have been identified and flagged for disciplinary action.
“But the ones involving our own staff, where it is our own staff that did so, that one is within our control. We are in the process of addressing it. They have been flagged,” Haruna said.
He added that the commission had obtained the names of the officials involved in approximately 10 states, stressing that they would face appropriate disciplinary measures.
“We have their names across about 10 states, and obviously, they are going to face disciplinary action,” he stated.
On the regulation of artificial intelligence in the electoral process, Haruna disclosed that INEC had developed a policy framework to guide its use of the technology but was yet to finalise the document.
He attributed the delay partly to the evolving nature of artificial intelligence, noting that even advanced democracies were still grappling with how best to regulate its application.
“As you know very well, it is new territory out there. Even the most advanced countries don’t have what you might call concrete, specific policies about AI because these things are evolving,” he said.
Haruna, however, assured that the commission had outlined its proposed approach to deploying artificial intelligence and would soon conclude the policy for public consideration.
“But we have at least some ideas of what we want to do and how we want to use that. We have that policy. Very soon, we will concretise it, and we will be able to share it with the media,” he added.
