AI-generated audio impersonating election officials fabricated results false polling announcements and targeted messages to suppress voter turnout could undermine Nigeria’s 2027 general elections the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Joash Amupitan and other stakeholders have warned.
They called for coordinated action by electoral authorities security agencies media organisations technology platforms and fact-checkers to detect and counter threats before they erode public confidence or trigger violence.
Speaking at a national summit on Artificial Intelligence Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) and Electoral Information Integrity in Abuja on Monday Amupitan said elections could be compromised long before voting begins as generative AI makes convincing fake audio videos and official documents increasingly accessible.
The summit was organised by the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) under the theme Beyond the Ballot: Safeguarding Electoral Information Integrity in the Age of AI.
‘Artificial intelligence is not inherently an enemy of democracy’ he said noting that machine learning could improve voter registration logistics planning data analysis and administrative efficiency.
However he warned that malicious actors could exploit the same technology to impersonate public figures fabricate election announcements and manipulate voters.
‘Any country any institution that has gone before these apps are not beginning to address the dangers that are posed by AI is planning to fail’ he said.
Amupitan identified continuous voter registration political campaigns the pre-election blackout period and result announcements as vulnerable stages in the electoral cycle. Fake registration portals manipulated voter lists and fabricated claims about cancelled polls could confuse citizens while false results might provoke unrest before INEC announces official outcomes.
He also warned that AI-generated audio could be timed to circulate during campaign blackouts leaving election authorities and fact-checkers little time to respond before voters head to the polls.
INEC he said was strengthening its technical and communication capacity and working with development partners including the European Union to prepare for information crises. The commission also has memoranda of understanding with some social media platforms including TikTok.
He urged media organisations telecommunications providers and technology companies to establish rapid channels for verifying claims and communicating accurate information. Voter education he added should extend beyond explaining how to vote to teaching citizens how to verify information including through messages in local languages and Nigerian Pidgin.
Amupitan however cautioned against using the fight against AI manipulation to justify censorship or suppress legitimate political dissent. He called for clear inter-agency escalation procedures institutionalised links with independent fact-checkers and simulation exercises to test responses before the 2027 elections.
‘Building credible elections requires continuous adaptation’ he said stressing that electoral integrity depended on both the physical security of polling units and the authenticity of information available to voters.
Former INEC chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega urged election management bodies to deploy AI tools including chatbots to provide voters with verified information and counter false election-related claims.
Jega who chaired the summit said discussions at the 2024 Cambridge Conference on Electoral Democracy had highlighted chatbots’ potential to answer voters’ questions using official information.
‘I believe that such positive uses of AI may be worthy of the effort while of course looking wide-eyed and vigilant for other efficient and effective ways of protecting information integrity’ he said.
He urged International IDEA and other partners to consider the proposal in future democracy dialogues arguing that the benefits of AI deserved attention alongside safeguards against misuse.
European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States Gautier Mignot warned that false electoral information could disrupt voting and deepen suspicion about election results.
‘A fabricated announcement can send voters to the wrong location. A false claim about results can deepen suspicion before verifying information reaches the public. The immediate target is information; the deeper target is trust’ he said.
Mignot called for response mechanisms to be established before election pressures intensify stronger partnerships among electoral authorities journalists fact-checkers and digital platforms and safeguards for democratic rights.
He said AI could improve translation accessibility and communication but also make deceptive content easier to produce. Even uncertainty over whether a recording was authentic he added could undermine public trust before its contents were verified.
‘The task is therefore broader than detecting deepfakes. It is to build an electoral information environment in which reliable information is available institutions communicate credibly independent journalism can flourish and manipulation is a prepared response’ he said.
Mignot called for international cooperation to share threat-assessment methods and strengthen verification skills while urging greater protection for women facing intimidation and coordinated online abuse alongside accessible electoral information in local languages and formats suitable for persons with disabilities.
He cautioned that efforts to combat foreign interference must not become a pretext for suppressing criticism or restricting media freedom adding that Nigeria’s electoral choices belonged to Nigerians.
Professor Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika who delivered the keynote address warned that the 2027 elections could face increasingly sophisticated voice cloning fabricated result sheets false polling announcements and cross-border influence operations.
Reviewing recent electoral cycles she said paid social media influence operations expanded in 2019 while the 2023 polls saw fabricated result sheets cloned official statements and edited videos used to mislead voters.
She identified five risks the rapid spread of synthetic content foreign actors using local proxies attempts to dismiss authentic evidence as AI-generated fragmented institutional responses and excessive government restrictions imposed in the name of combating false information.
Foreign actors she said could use local public relations consultants digital agencies and influencers to conceal their involvement making technical investigations financial tracking and cross-border intelligence sharing essential.
Ogwezzy-Ndisika also noted that AI could improve voter register audits detect duplicate registrations support logistics planning and identify anomalies in polling-unit data provided its use was subject to human oversight cybersecurity safeguards data privacy and accountability.
She proposed a national Electoral Information Integrity Response Protocol covering early-warning systems risk assessment independent forensic verification digital evidence preservation rapid communication and post-incident reviews.
She stressed that countermeasures must comply with the Constitution the Electoral Act and the Nigeria Data Protection Act warning against internet shutdowns throttling and arbitrary platform bans that could undermine fundamental rights.
‘The integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 general election will not be decided on the election day in 2027. It’s been decided right now in the choices we make the protocols we build and the trust we forge in this room today’ she said.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris represented by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council Dr Dili Ezughah said electoral integrity depended on the quality of information available to citizens before during and after voting.
He cited Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy published in 2024 and the establishment of the UNESCO Category 2 International Media and Information Literacy Institute in Nigeria as steps towards responsible AI use and improved public understanding of information.
Idris also cited the Electoral Act 2026 signed by President Bola Tinubu on February 18 which provides for mandatory electronic transmission of polling-unit results and recognises INEC’s result-viewing portal.
He urged journalists to verify information while maintaining their independence and holding government political parties and public institutions accountable. Responses to false information he said must respect freedom of expression and the right to information.
On his part the Executive Director of the International Press Centre Lanre Arogundade said more than 300 participants would work towards a shared understanding of electoral information threats test responses through a simulation exercise and agree on an electoral incident response protocol.
He said the summit would also seek commitments from relevant institutions with defined responsibilities and timelines towards establishing a Nigerian Electoral Incident Partnership to sustain collaboration beyond the meeting.