The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has deployed 57,000 additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and introduced artificial intelligence-driven security measures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The measures, according to the commission, are aimed at strengthening voter accreditation, securing electoral data and detecting attempts to manipulate its digital platforms as preparations intensify for the polls.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this while giving an update on the commission’s preparations for the 2027 elections, saying the new BVAS devices had undergone software hardening, battery optimisation and biometric calibration.
He said the measures were designed to prevent accreditation bypass and reduce opportunities for manual interference in the voting process.
Amupitan said the commission was also deploying AI-based anomaly detection to monitor traffic on its databases and identify possible cyber intrusions or unauthorised alterations.
The commission, he added, had strengthened its electronic result management system, with polling unit result sheets digitised, cryptographically authenticated and uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing portal.
The INEC chairman said the commission was working towards ensuring that voting commenced simultaneously across polling units nationwide, drawing lessons from recent off-cycle elections.
He said preparations for the elections had also progressed in the areas of logistics, procurement and voter registration, with readiness assessments already conducted in parts of the country.
The commission has also put the number of registered voters at more than 103 million following the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise and subsequent biometric cleaning of the register.
According to INEC, 10,772,421 new registrants were captured during the three phases of the CVR exercise, with the commission undertaking further verification to remove ineligible or duplicate entries.
The commission is expected to commence nationwide distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from October 9, 2026, following the processing of cards from the first phase of the registration exercise.
Amupitan further disclosed that INEC had introduced technology that would allow eligible voters to print or download their PVCs, a facility that had been tested during a recent off-cycle election.
He said the innovation would particularly assist voters whose cards had been lost or stolen, while reducing some of the logistical challenges associated with physical replacement of cards.
On the financial aspect of elections, the INEC chairman said the commission was strengthening collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit and the Federal Ministry of Justice to tackle vote-buying and illicit campaign financing.
He warned political actors against attempting to influence voters with money, saying the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend largely on the ability of voters to make independent choices.
“Elections must be decided by the conviction of the voter, not the depth of a candidate’s pocket,” Amupitan said.
He also warned against the use of artificial intelligence to generate deepfakes and manipulated audio-visual materials, as well as coordinated misinformation and premature declaration of unofficial election results.
The commission said it had so far completed eight of the 14 major statutory activities contained in its revised timetable for the 2027 elections, with other critical activities expected to be concluded before election day.
INEC is scheduled to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections on January 16, 2027, with the governorship and State Assembly elections to follow on March 6.
