The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed artificial intelligence (AI)-generated photographs uploaded to Nigeria’s national voters’ register.
It has also identified officials involved in the practice across about 10 states for disciplinary action.
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 event, titled ‘AI, misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 elections: Safeguarding the truth, protecting the vote’, examined the growing threats artificial intelligence poses to electoral credibility.
Haruna described the use of AI-generated images in the voters’ register as a significant challenge for the commission, noting that although INEC had removed the identified photographs, preventing members of the public from manipulating their pictures before uploading them remained difficult.
He, however, said the commission had identified cases involving its own personnel and was taking steps to address the violations, adding that the officials had already been flagged.
“We have already seen one of the challenges, which is that a lot of AI-generated photographs were posted onto the voters’ register, which, as we have said, we have had to take down,” he said.
The commissioner explained that INEC had limited control over photographs manipulated by members of the public before submission but could take direct action against its employees found engaging in such practices.
According to him, the commission had obtained the names of the affected officials in approximately 10 states, with disciplinary measures expected to follow.
“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 stated.
The disclosure comes amid growing concerns about the potential misuse of artificial intelligence, particularly the spread of manipulated images, misinformation, and other digitally generated content capable of misleading voters and undermining confidence in elections.
Speaking on INEC’s preparedness to manage the challenges associated with the technology during the 2027 electoral process, Haruna revealed that the commission had developed an artificial intelligence policy but was yet to finalise it.
He acknowledged that regulating AI remained a developing challenge globally, explaining that technological advancements had made it difficult for even advanced democracies to establish comprehensive policies governing its use.
According to him, the evolving nature of artificial intelligence requires electoral institutions to continually assess its implications and develop appropriate measures to prevent its misuse.
“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 nevertheless maintained that INEC had already identified areas where it intended to deploy artificial intelligence and outlined measures guiding its use.
He said the commission was working towards completing the policy and would make it available to the media 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.
