The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has flagged its officials in 10 states for uploading artificial intelligence-generated photographs to the national voters’ register, warning that those involved will face disciplinary action.
INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday during a webinar titled, ‘AI, Misinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 Elections: Safeguarding the Truth, Protecting the Vote’, organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation.
Haruna, who chairs the commission’s Information and Voter Education Committee, said INEC had also removed AI-generated photographs discovered on the voters’ register.
He described the development as one of the emerging challenges facing the commission ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“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 said the commission had identified cases involving its own personnel and was taking steps to sanction those responsible.
He explained that although INEC might find it difficult to prevent members of the public from digitally manipulating their photographs before uploading them, it had the authority to address violations involving its officials.
“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 across about 10 states and would commence disciplinary action against them.
“We have their names across about 10 states, and obviously, they are going to face disciplinary action,” he said.
On efforts to regulate artificial intelligence in the electoral process, Haruna said INEC had developed an AI policy but was yet to finalise it.
He noted that the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence had created regulatory challenges for countries, including advanced democracies, which were still working towards establishing comprehensive policies on the technology.
“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, said the commission had outlined its proposed approach to the technology and would soon conclude work on the policy before making it available to the media and the public.
“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.
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