By Lateef Ibrahim
Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and key electoral stakeholders have resolved to form an institutional alliance to combat the rising threat of artificial intelligence-driven misinformation, deepfakes, and Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI).
Speaking in Abuja at the National Summit on Electoral Information Integrity—themed “Beyond the Ballot: AI, FIMI and the Integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 Elections”—INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, warned that modern election threats have migrated from physical polling unit disruption to sophisticated digital warfare designed to erode voter trust long before ballots are cast.
“INEC cannot police the truth alone. Electoral threats have evolved. While AI offers potential to enhance election administration, its malicious deployment through deepfakes, voice cloning, fabricated announcements, and coordinated disinformation poses a severe danger to democratic stability.
“We need a united front for information integrity,” Prof. Amupitan stated.
To proactively counter these risks, the INEC chief revealed that the Commission is fortifying its internal technological architecture and media tracking capabilities to detect manipulated content, verify suspicious reports, and deploy rapid counter-narratives in real time.
He urged security agencies, technology platforms, media organizations, and civil society groups to establish inter-agency escalation protocols and conduct pre-election simulation exercises to prepare for potential AI-driven information crises.
However, Prof. Amupitan cautioned that safeguards against digital manipulation must be balanced with constitutional rights, emphasizing that combatting misinformation must not serve as a pretext for censorship, media suppression, or the restriction of legitimate political speech.
The summit featured key perspectives from national and international governance experts:
* Prof. Attahiru Jega, former INEC Chairman and chair of the occasion, noted that while AI offers administrative advantages, its deployment in political settings requires immediate regulatory frameworks and institutional preparedness ahead of 2027.
Also, Gautier Mignot, European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, highlighted that digital fabrication can destroy an election’s credibility without a single physical ballot box being tampered with, reiterating EU support for democratic resilience initiatives in Nigeria.
Similarly, Dr. Dili Ezughah, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council (representing the Minister of Information), noted that the 2024 National Artificial Intelligence Strategy provides an existing baseline for responsible AI governance, adding that voter decisions depend directly on the quality of information available.
On his part, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC), speaking on behalf of civil society partners, stressed that the battle for public trust is actively taking place online, demanding structured verification channels between journalists and electoral officials.
Organized by the IPC and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) under the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria programme (implemented with DAI), the summit featured expert presentations by Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Dr. Monday Ashibogwu, and Prof. Lambe Mustapha, alongside panel discussions on algorithmic risk exposure for vulnerable voter demographics.
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