​Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of concealing evidence and shielding officials implicated in widespread voter register irregularities, warning that the scandal threatens the credibility of the 2027 general elections. ​
The controversy follows INEC’s recent acknowledgment that artificial intelligence-generated photographs and suspicious entries compromised the database, an abnormality the electoral umpire attributed to rogue registration officers during the preliminary display exercise conducted between October 9 and 15.
Speaking through a statement released on Friday, October 30, 2026, in Abuja by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the presidential campaign council, the opposition leader condemned the commission’s attempt to handle the breach quietly. ​Atiku warned that an internal administrative purge behind closed doors amounts to an evasion of accountability.
Addressing the commission’s leadership, led by Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, Atiku declared that INEC has no right to demand public trust while concealing evidence and shielding perpetrators. He stressed that until the commission identifies the culprits, exposes external contractors, and submits all registration records to independent scrutiny, its assurances remain worthless and the integrity of the 2027 polls remains compromised.
​To address the breach, the former Vice President demanded full public transparency regarding all third-party vendors managing the registration database, along with the technical safeguards governing their system access. Following reports alleging that over 20 million AI-generated image entries may be involved, he called for an immediate independent forensic audit with full participation from political party representatives and civil society observers.
Rather than subjecting implicated personnel to internal administrative transfers, Atiku insisted that all involved INEC officials and external agents face formal suspension and criminal prosecution. Should the electoral body fail to disclose access logs, audit trails, and contractor details voluntarily, he pledged to initiate court proceedings to legally compel the release of the records.
