Atiku also demanded that the electoral commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials, warning that keeping such information secret could undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
In a statement issued on Friday, October 30, 2026, by his campaign council’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku described INEC’s admission that some registration officers manipulated the voter database as a “catastrophic failure of leadership and safeguards”.
The controversy followed the publication of INEC’s preliminary Register of Voters online on October 26. The register reportedly contained suspicious photographs, duplicate entries and other questionable records, including images suspected to have been generated using artificial intelligence.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Lawrence Bayode, had disclosed during an interview on Arise Television that some registration officers allegedly abused their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the database.
Bayode said the commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) detected the questionable entries and helped establish how some of them were introduced.
“We know what they did. We know how they did it. But honestly, I don’t know why,” he said.
Reacting to the disclosure, Atiku questioned why the commission could establish how its officers allegedly manipulated the register but had not identified them publicly or explained whether they had been suspended or prosecuted.
He described the explanation attributed to INEC’s leadership and its ICT director as an attempt to evade responsibility rather than provide a satisfactory account of the incident.
“How can the database holding the votes of millions of Nigerians be less secure than a personal social media account?” Atiku asked, expressing concern about the security measures protecting the voter registration system.
The former vice president urged INEC to disclose all available evidence relating to the alleged manipulation and commission an independent forensic audit of the voter register.
He particularly drew attention to claims that more than 20 million AI-generated images might have been introduced into the database, insisting that the allegation required independent examination.
“INEC must not quietly ‘clean up’ the register and bury the evidence. The allegation that more than 20 million AI-generated images may be involved demands an independent forensic audit,” he said.
Atiku further called for the preservation of voter records, image files, access logs and other digital audit trails that could help investigators establish how the questionable entries entered the database.
He also advocated the involvement of independent technical experts, political parties, civil society organisations and international observers in the audit process.
“No disputed record should be certified until the audit is complete,” he added.
The ADC presidential candidate also criticised INEC over what he described as its failure to respond adequately to opposition parties’ demands for transparency concerning contractors handling sensitive election materials for the 2027 polls.
He maintained that the identities of the companies awarded the contracts, as well as the security measures governing their operations, should be made public to ensure transparency and build confidence among political parties.
“If the APC government knows who is handling these materials and what protocols apply, opposition parties must receive the same information. Publish the contractors’ identities and explain the safeguards governing their work,” he said.
Atiku warned that he would consider seeking judicial intervention if the electoral commission refused to provide the information requested.
“If INEC refuses to disclose the truth, we will go to court and compel it. Every official found to have tampered with the register must be prosecuted,” he stated.
Meanwhile, INEC has maintained that the disputed entries were identified in the preliminary register and that its ongoing review process would address the irregularities before the final register is certified on December 15, 2026.
The commission has also explained that the online register published on October 26 did not capture all the data-cleaning exercises already in progress.
The controversy has raised fresh questions about the integrity of the voter registration database, the effectiveness of INEC’s internal safeguards and the level of transparency required to sustain public confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
