Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Joash Amupitan said on Monday that fabricated election results fake announcements of cancelled polls and AI-generated impersonations of electoral officials could trigger public disorder and undermine confidence in Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Speaking at the opening of the National Summit on Electoral Information Integrity themed ‘Beyond the Ballot: AI FIMI and the Integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 Elections’ Prof. Amupitan said the commission’s primary concern is that while technology evolves at the speed of light the truth often travels at the speed of trust.
According to him ‘AI-enabled manipulation- from synthetic audio of election officials to ‘deepfake’ videos of candidates- can trigger real-world disenfranchisement and civil unrest. The challenge is not just the ‘fake news’ itself but the ‘Liar’s Dividend’ where the mere existence of AI makes voters doubtful of what is actually true’.
According to him the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence has created new vulnerabilities that could allow malicious actors to manipulate electoral information and sow confusion even before votes are counted.
He said mischief-makers determined to cause confusion and unrest may deliberately target the period when candidate responses are not available especially the last 24 hours before election day when campaigns are expected to end.
He called for an emergency response system involving the electoral commission security agencies media organisations fact-checkers and technology companies to identify and counter false information before it causes widespread damage.
The INEC Chairman warned that the credibility of the 2027 elections could be threatened not only by physical interference at polling units but also by digital operations that can mislead voters discredit candidates and create doubts about official electoral procedures.
According to him fabricated audio recordings manipulated videos and false digital announcements could be deployed at critical moments to exploit gaps in communication and verification.
One such concern he said is a scenario in which manipulated audio or documents falsely announce results or claim that elections have been cancelled in strategically important constituencies.
He warned that such falsehood could provoke unrest disrupt the coalition process and weaken public confidence in the commission.
According to him ‘Collation and Result Announcement’ are particularly sensitive stages of the electoral process and fabricated information targeting these operations could have consequences beyond the reputations of individual candidates.
‘The casualty is not merely candidate reputation-it is citizen trust in the democratic process itself’ Amupitan said.
He said the commission’s concern is that conventional communication and fact-checking procedures may be too slow to counter digital falsehoods that spread rapidly across social media platforms adding that issuing formal rebuttal hours after a fabricated video had circulated widely might not reverse the damage already done.
He said ‘When a manipulated video achieves viral saturation within thirty minutes of release a formal text rebuttal issued three hours later struggles to undo the cognitive damage’
He called for clear procedures specifying who should detect suspicious content verify its authenticity escalate the incident and issue an authoritative response.
He stressed that under the proposed arrangement fact-checkers and independent journalists would have direct access to designated INEC communication officials to verify election-related claims within minutes not hours.
He also stressed the need for social media companies to establish fast-track channels to review and appropriately handle demonstrably manipulated content that violates their rules on electoral interference while telecommunications providers and media organisations should maintain channels to promptly disseminate verified alerts to the public.
Amupitan maintained that the threat of information manipulation could emerge at different stages of the electoral cycle from voter registration and campaign activities to polling collation and the announcement of results.
He said ‘Before elections malicious actors could circulate fake operational directives fraudulent registration portals and misleading claims about updates to the voters’ register.
‘During campaigns fabricated audio recordings or videos purporting to show candidates making controversial statements could be released at moments when there was little time for verification or response.’
He cited the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election when an AI-generated audio recording purporting to implicate a political party leader in vote buying circulated shortly before voting.
The example he said illustrated the difficulty of countering manipulated information when it spreads during particularly sensitive electoral periods.
Amupitan maintained that educating citizens about deepfakes was important but insufficient without institutional arrangements that can respond rapidly to coordinated digital manipulation.
He said the commission should work with civil society organisations and other stakeholders to teach voters how to distinguish authentic electoral information from fabricated content including through short audio messages in local languages and Pidgin English.
He cautioned however that efforts to counter misinformation must not become a justification for suppressing political opposition independent journalism or legitimate public criticism.
He said measures to address foreign information manipulation and synthetic electoral fraud must be transparent proportionate and subject to legal accountability.
‘The goal is not to police opinion regulate political debate or restrict citizens’ freedom of expression’ he said.
He stressed that the objective was to protect the authenticity of election information while preserving Nigerians’ right to participate freely in political debate.
Amupitan said the summit should produce practical commitments rather than another declaration without measurable implementation.
He identified clear inter-agency escalation procedures institutionalised fact-checking channels and simulation exercises as priority outcomes needed to test Nigeria’s readiness for AI-driven electoral information crises.
He said the integrity of the 2027 elections would depend not only on the security of polling units and electoral materials but also on the reliability of the information voters receive before making their choices.