People are still reacting to the story of the INEC voter registration list that ended up in dispute.
In a recent development, Atiku Abubakar, a presidential contender and member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has challenged the Independent National Voter Registration Commission (INEC) to reveal the individuals responsible for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to create misleading visuals and identify organisations that handled confidential election documents.
Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s spokesman, made the challenge public in a statement released on Friday.
The admission by the election authority that its registration officers introduced the anomalies was characterised by Atiku as a catastrophic failure.
He called the assertion made by INEC Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr. Lawrence Bayode, that the commission knows what its officers did but does not know why, a “disgraceful evasion,” and criticised Professor Joash Amupitan, the chair of the commission.
The accusation that over 20 million AI-generated photos may be implicated necessitates an independent forensic audit, which Atiku urged INEC not to do covertly by clearing the register and hiding the evidence.
It should be remembered that the preliminary voters’ register was revealed three days ago by INEC in response to pressure from opposition parties, including Atiku Abubakar’s ADC.
But worries about AI-generated images have followed the voter registration.
Following the uproar, INEC promised to examine the records.
According to Bayode, who recently spoke with Arise Television, registration officers allegedly introduced irregularities using their official login data.