The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that the misuse of artificial intelligence to create and circulate false information could undermine the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The commission also said electoral technology and communication must be handled as interconnected parts of election management, rather than treated as separate areas.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the 13th Annual International Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria. His keynote address was delivered by National Commissioner Sani Adam, SAN.
The conference was themed, “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruption and the New Dynamics of Electoral Communication.”
According to Amupitan, INEC is currently carrying out a comprehensive assessment of its electoral technology infrastructure as part of preparations for the 2027 elections.
The review covers areas such as system redundancy, penetration testing and disaster recovery arrangements. The commission is also considering a mock presidential election to test its technological systems under conditions similar to an actual election day.
Amupitan said the credibility of INEC now depends not only on the integrity of the ballot, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and result sheets, but also on whether voters understand and trust the information surrounding the electoral process.
He explained that the introduction of BVAS and the INEC Result Viewing Portal was intended to improve transparency by allowing citizens to access polling-unit results before they are moved to collation centres.
However, he acknowledged that the 2023 elections demonstrated how technological failures could create public distrust.
He stressed that electoral legitimacy could only be sustained when systems function reliably, voters understand how they work and authorities communicate openly when problems occur.
On artificial intelligence, the INEC chairman raised concerns over the increasing ability of generative AI tools to produce highly convincing fake audio, videos and images capable of influencing voters.
He noted that technological advances have made manipulated content cheaper to produce and more difficult to identify, with fabricated political materials already becoming a concern during elections in parts of West and East Africa.
Another major concern, he said, is algorithmic microtargeting, which allows political actors to send carefully tailored messages to specific groups of voters. Such systems could enable different sections of the electorate to receive contradictory political narratives without a common factual basis.
Amupitan warned that AI-generated and targeted content could spread to millions of social media users before electoral authorities or fact-checkers have enough time to verify and respond to it.
He also disclosed that INEC had proposed significant funding for technology and election operations, including the replacement of accreditation devices that were lost or damaged during the previous electoral cycle.
While the commission is still awaiting the full release of the funds, its ICT team has reportedly begun engaging manufacturers as preparations for the technology audit and proposed mock election continue.
To address emerging challenges around electoral communication, Amupitan outlined a five-point strategy.
The plan includes combining technology and communication planning, establishing a rapid-response system to counter false information within the same news cycle, openly communicating known vulnerabilities and safeguards, strengthening partnerships with media scholars, fact-checkers and technology platforms, and continuously improving public media literacy.
He maintained that INEC could no longer afford to treat technology and communication as separate aspects of election administration.
The commission consequently urged media professionals, technology experts, academics, fact-checkers and other stakeholders to work together to improve public understanding and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process ahead of the 2027 polls.
