BEN AHANONU
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is facing a massive crisis of trust. The commission recently admitted that there are severe problems, fraudulent details, and internal cheating within the preliminary voters’ register. This admission proves that INEC’s internal security* *systems have failed completely. Instead of being completely open and fixing these urgent issues, INEC is trying to avoid its* *responsibilities. This deceptive behaviour inflicts great harm on Nigeria’s democracy. For a country that has struggled with poorly managed elections in the past, a corrupted voters’ register is not just a minor technical error. It is a direct and dangerous threat to the political power of ordinary citizens.
*The public discovered this massive failure when Lawrence Bayode, a top director in INEC’s technology department, spoke on Arise Television.* *He admitted that INEC’s own staff used their official login details to insert false information into the database.* When the preliminary voters’ register was displayed for public review, alert citizens noticed shocking errors. They uncovered fake photos that appeared to be created by artificial intelligence (AI), names listed multiple times, and the records of deceased individuals. Some reports suggest that *the problem is truly enormous, involving over 20 million fake AI images designed to create ghost voters. This means the system is flooded with millions of identities that do not belong to real, living voters.*
Even though INEC knows exactly how the system was compromised and that its own staff did it, the commission claims it does not understand why the workers behaved this way. This explanation is completely unacceptable and represents a total failure of leadership. If the official organisation in charge of our national elections cannot control its own staff or secure its computer systems, it cannot guarantee a fair election to the public. Leadership requires accountability, not confusion. Simply saying they do not know why their own workers corrupted the voter data shows that the leadership is either out of touch or unwilling to face the problem directly.
In response to this negligence, Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), spoke out through his campaign spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu. Atiku pointed out precisely where INEC is hiding the truth from the public. First, he demanded that INEC name, suspend, and prosecute the corrupt workers who tampered with the register. A database cannot change itself, and official login details do not operate on their own. Every single entry or change in a digital database leaves a digital footprint that points directly to the person responsible. By keeping the identities of these workers a secret, INEC appears to be protecting criminals inside its own office.
This protective action completely destroys public trust. If INEC possesses the computer records to see how the system was hacked, it definitely knows exactly who is responsible. Hiding these names and failing to hand the corrupt workers over to the police is a major failure of duty. It naturally makes citizens suspect that INEC is part of a larger cover-up. In a true democracy, public institutions must answer to the people, and public officers who break the law must face immediate legal consequences.
Because the scale of this corruption is so large, Nigeria desperately needs an independent group of outside experts to check the entire voters’ register. The ADC candidate is entirely right to say that no disputed voter record should be accepted until outside experts, political parties, and international observers can look at all the files, photos, and computer logs. Letting INEC investigate itself behind closed doors is simply not good enough because its own tech department is directly involved in the mess. A corrupted voters’ register makes it very easy for dishonest people to cheat on election day. It creates millions of fake identities that can be used to manipulate the final vote numbers in specific regions. To stop this from happening, every action taken by INEC’s staff must be opened up for the public to see clearly.
Beyond these serious database issues, INEC is also facing heavy criticism for maintaining secrecy surrounding its business deals. The commission has repeatedly ignored demands from opposition parties to reveal which private companies are being paid to print sensitive election materials for the 2027 polls. Sensitive materials include essential items such as ballot papers, official result sheets, and voter verification forms, which form the most critical parts of any electoral process. When the names of the private companies manufacturing these items are kept hidden, it raises serious red flags across the country.
People naturally worry about political favouritism, a total lack of transparency, or poor security checks on the companies involved. If a company with political ties is secretly hired to print ballot papers, the fairness of the entire election is compromised before voting even begins. INEC has a fundamental duty to publish the names of these contractors immediately and explain the safety protocols they must follow. Failing to do so makes it appear as though the commission prefers administrative secrecy over public accountability.
*In the end, INEC has no right to ask Nigerians to trust it while it actively hides evidence, keeps contractors secret, and protects guilty workers from the law. Trust must be earned through total honesty and clear actions, not just demanded through official announcements and press releases.* *Promises of a fair election mean absolutely nothing when the commission refuses to punish its own corrupt staff. *If INEC continues to refuse to expose the truth and allow independent experts to check its work, the opposition’s plan to take the commission to court is absolutely necessary.* They are defending the very foundations of Nigerian democracy. The credibility of the 2027 elections depends entirely on resolving this database crisis, and INEC’s current secrecy stands as a major threat to the peace, stability, and future of the nation.
*A better Nigeria is attainable.*
*Prince Ben AHANONU*
*Principal Partner*
*Ben AHANONU and* *Associates*