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Nigeria’s 2027 general elections face an unprecedented information crisis capable of undermining public confidence without altering a single ballot, as artificial intelligence, AI, makes it possible to clone political voices within minutes, forge official documents within seconds and make authentic evidence look like fabrication.
The warning was issued in Abuja at the Two-Day National Summit on Artificial Intelligence, AI, Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference, FIMI, and Electoral Information Integrity, convened under the theme, ‘Beyond the Papers: Safeguarding Electoral Information Integrity in the Age of AI’.
The summit was organised by the International Press Centre, IPC, the Centre for Media and Society, CEMESO, and DAI under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, EU-SDGN, Programme. More than 300 participants drawn from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, regulatory institutions, security agencies, political parties, media organisations, technology platforms, telecommunications operators, fact-checkers, civil society organisations and academic institutions attended.
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Executive Director of the IPC, Dr. Lanre Arogundade, warned that Nigeria is entering an election season where the contest for power is accompanied by a parallel struggle to shape what citizens believe about candidates, procedures and results.
Arogundade said political campaigns are underway but the battle over public perception is intensifying across digital platforms where false claims can spread before voters reach polling stations.
Citing findings from the 2023 general elections, he disclosed that the Nigeria Fact Checkers Coalition found that 63 per cent of presidential and National Assembly-related claims it reviewed were entirely false, that false claims moved to a second platform within an average of 11 minutes, and that more than 1.2 million accounts following leading presidential candidates were assessed to be inauthentic.
He noted that Nigeria has about 148 million internet users, with a survey of 829 voters across the six geopolitical zones showing that 52 per cent obtained political views primarily from social media, rising to over 82 per cent in the South-East, while more than four in 10 respondents did not verify information before sharing it.
“When citizens can no longer distinguish between genuine information and manufactured narratives, public accountability suffers, confidence in electoral institutions deteriorates and the credibility of the democratic process comes under pressure,” Arogundade warned.
He identified an even more dangerous dimension: fabricated recordings could be presented as authentic statements by political leaders and forged documents as official communications, while genuine recordings and evidence could be dismissed as AI manipulation.
He cautioned that organised foreign information manipulation is now significant, citing research documenting 189 disinformation campaigns across Africa, with West Africa accounting for 72 per cent, and organised social media manipulation documented in at least 81 countries.
He referenced the 26.7 per cent voter turnout in 2023, the lowest since 1999, as backdrop to concerns about trust and participation.
Former INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who chaired the summit, placed INEC at the centre of the response, proposing that the commission establish officially managed AI-powered verification chatbots through which voters can obtain immediate answers, verify announcements and authenticate information attributed to INEC.
“I would like to recommend that if INEC has not done so far, it might be a useful issue to add to our discussions and to see how best to do it before the 2027 general elections,” Jega said, recalling that the 2024 Cambridge Conference on Electoral Democracy had encouraged African election management bodies to consider chatbots.
He stressed that chatbots are not a complete solution and challenged participants to develop specific, measurable and implementable recommendations.
European Union Ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, warned that an election can be undermined without a single ballot being altered.
“A fabricated announcement can send voters to the wrong location. A false claim about results can deepen suspicion before verified information reaches the public,” Mignot warned.
He said the ultimate objective of information manipulation is to weaken citizens’ confidence in democratic institutions. While acknowledging that European democracies have also faced foreign interference, he delivered a strong defence of press freedom.
“Journalists must retain editorial independence. Fact-checkers must remain free to reach their own conclusions. INEC must communicate within its authority. Platforms must explain their decisions and provide appropriate routes for review,” he said.
Mignot cautioned that the fight against fake news must not become an excuse for silencing journalists, suppressing criticism or creating a centralised information-control structure. He raised concerns about vulnerability of women in politics to impersonation, fabricated allegations and coordinated harassment, and warned that electoral institutions must not leave communication gaps.
“We cannot leave an information vacuum and expect trust to fill it,” he declared.
The Federal Government, represented by Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council, Dr. Dili Ezuga, on behalf of Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said electoral credibility must be measured not only by voting, counting and transmission of results but also by quality of information.
Speaking on the theme, Beyond the Padlock: AI, FIMI and the Integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 Elections, Ezuga cited Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2024 as framework for responsible AI, and pointed to the UNESCO Category 2 International Media and Information Literacy Institute in Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2026 signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on February 18, 2026, with provisions on electronic transmission of polling-unit results.
He stressed that technology-driven reforms must be supported by broadband capacity and protection against interference, and that responsible journalism must not be confused with favourable journalism.
“The integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 election is a shared responsibility. Every institution and every citizen has a role to play,” he said.
He called for stronger verification systems, rapid channels for correcting false information, coordinated responses and sustained public education, insisting that efforts to counter misinformation must remain lawful and proportionate.
Arogundade said awareness alone will not protect the electoral information environment, calling for a trusted, coordinated and rights-respecting national system to anticipate threats, verify evidence, escalate incidents and communicate authoritatively.
The summit, attended by INEC Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, ambassadors of Finland and Belgium, and other dignitaries, is expected to translate recommendations into operational safeguards before campaigns intensify ahead of the January 16, 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections and February 5 Governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls.
The test, stakeholders agreed, is whether Nigeria can protect voters from manufactured falsehoods without allowing the fight against disinformation to become another threat to democracy, in a digital environment where falsehoods may be accepted as facts and genuine evidence rejected as fabrication.
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