The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised concerns over the growing sophistication of artificial intelligence-driven disinformation, warning that the emerging technology could pose one of the most serious threats to the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The electoral body said the integrity of the 2027 polls would depend not only on the reliability of the ballot, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and result sheets, but also on the ability of Nigerians to access, understand and trust information about the electoral process.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, represented by a National Commissioner, Sani Adams, SAN, raised the concerns on Wednesday at the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), held at the National Open University Conference Centre in Abuja.
The conference had as its theme, “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication.”
Amupitan said the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence had fundamentally changed the information environment in which elections were conducted, making it increasingly difficult for voters to distinguish genuine political communication from fabricated or manipulated content.
According to him, the challenge goes beyond conventional fake news because artificial intelligence tools can now produce convincing videos, photographs, audio recordings and other forms of synthetic content at relatively low cost and at a speed that makes traditional verification mechanisms increasingly difficult to deploy.
He warned that fabricated political content could reach millions of voters through social media platforms before journalists, electoral authorities or fact-checkers had an opportunity to establish whether such material was authentic.
The INEC chairman noted that documented cases of manipulated political content had emerged during recent electoral cycles in West and East Africa, including material circulated in connection with Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election.
He said the threat was not limited to outright fabrication, stressing that algorithmic microtargeting posed another significant challenge to electoral communication.
According to him, digital platforms can enable different groups of voters to receive conflicting political messages, making it difficult to maintain a common factual foundation across the electorate.
Technology and Electoral Credibility
Amupitan said INEC’s deployment of BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) was intended to address longstanding concerns about the credibility and transparency of elections in Nigeria.
The technologies, he explained, were designed to strengthen voter accreditation and enable citizens and other stakeholders to view polling-unit results before their movement to collation centres.
However, he acknowledged that the 2023 general election demonstrated how electoral technology could itself become a source of public suspicion when systems fail to perform as expected.
The INEC chairman said public confidence in technology could only be sustained when systems were reliable, properly understood by stakeholders and transparently explained when problems occurred.
He stressed that electoral legitimacy was ultimately dependent on performance and trust.
“Legitimacy is earned only when systems perform reliably, are well understood, and are explained honestly when they fall short,” he said.
INEC Plans Technology Audit
As part of preparations for the 2027 general elections, Amupitan disclosed that INEC was conducting a comprehensive audit of its electoral technology systems.
The exercise, he said, would cover system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery planning, with the objective of identifying weaknesses and ensuring that critical electoral technologies could withstand technical failures and cyber threats.
The commission is also exploring the possibility of conducting a mock presidential election ahead of the 2027 polls.
According to the chairman, such an exercise would provide an opportunity to test voter accreditation, result transmission and result viewing under conditions similar to those expected on election day.
He said the exercise would help the commission identify potential weaknesses before the actual election and give stakeholders greater confidence in the systems being deployed.
Budget and Procurement
The INEC chairman also disclosed that the commission had proposed a substantial budget for the 2027 elections, with significant allocations for technology and election operations.
The proposed expenditure includes the acquisition of new voter accreditation devices to replace those lost or damaged during the previous electoral cycle.
Although the full release of the required funds was still being awaited, Amupitan said INEC’s information and communications technology team had already begun discussions with manufacturers as part of its procurement planning.
He said planning for the technology audit and proposed mock election was progressing alongside the budget finalisation process.
Five-Point Strategy Against Disinformation
Amupitan outlined a five-point approach that INEC intends to pursue as it prepares for the 2027 elections and confronts the growing threat posed by digital disinformation.
First, he called for the integration of technology and communication planning, arguing that electoral technology cannot be treated separately from the way information about the technology is communicated to the public.
Second, he advocated the establishment of a dedicated rapid-response capability that would enable the commission to respond to false information within the same news cycle.
Third, he called for pre-emptive public communication about known vulnerabilities, safeguards and potential limitations of electoral systems.
Fourth, he urged deeper collaboration between INEC, media scholars, fact-checking organisations and technology platforms.
Finally, he emphasised the need for sustained investment in public media and digital literacy so that voters can better identify misleading or manipulated information.
Partnership With Media Scholars
The INEC chairman commended the commission’s collaboration with international partners on cybersecurity architecture and system resilience.
He also invited communication scholars and professionals under the ACSPN to establish structured partnerships with INEC in areas including media literacy research, synthetic-content detection and training for journalists and civic educators.
He said communication experts had an important role to play in helping voters understand increasingly complex electoral technologies and distinguish credible information from digitally manipulated content.
Amupitan also noted that Nigeria’s 2027 electorate would be younger and more reliant on mobile technology than previous electorates.
He described the smartphone as likely to be the primary window through which many Nigerians would experience the electoral process, from political campaigns and voter education to election results and post-election debates.
However, he cautioned against simply importing technological or communication solutions developed in other countries.
According to him, Nigeria’s unique circumstances—including varying levels of internet access, language diversity and the degree of public trust in institutions—must be considered when designing strategies for the 2027 election.
‘Better Information, Not Restrictions’
The INEC chairman stressed that the commission’s response to disinformation would not be aimed at restricting legitimate journalism, political expression or civic dissent.
Instead, he said the commission would seek to provide accurate, timely and accessible information that could compete effectively with false narratives.
He argued that the best defence against misinformation was often the rapid availability of credible information from trusted institutions.
The commission expressed optimism that the ACSPN conference would result in more than academic discussions, describing the gathering as an opportunity to establish a lasting channel of collaboration between communication scholars and the electoral body.
With Nigeria approaching another critical election cycle in 2027, the commission said it remained committed to strengthening its technological infrastructure, improving transparency and ensuring that voters have access to reliable information.
The warning over artificial intelligence-driven disinformation underscores the changing nature of electoral contests, where the battle for credibility may increasingly take place not only at polling units and collation centres, but also on smartphones and digital platforms.
For INEC, the challenge ahead is therefore twofold: ensuring that its electoral technologies work as intended while simultaneously convincing millions of voters that the information they receive about the election can be trusted.
