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Delivering the charge on Monday, November 2, 2026, in Abuja, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Joash O. Amupitan, SAN, opened the National Summit on Electoral Information Integrity.
The event, held under the theme "Beyond the Ballot: AI, FIMI and the Integrity of Nigeria's 2027 Elections," established a clear operational blueprint for multi-stakeholder readiness.
Prof. Amupitan made it clear that the nature of electoral interference has fundamentally evolved.
Threats are no longer limited to physical disruption at polling units but now include sophisticated, persistent digital manipulation capable of eroding public confidence in institutions and outcomes long before voting begins.
While acknowledging that AI holds the potential to significantly enhance administrative efficiency within election management bodies, the Chairman warned that it is equally weaponizable.
Bad actors can leverage these tools to generate highly convincing deepfakes, clone voices, fabricate official announcements, and execute coordinated disinformation campaigns at scale.
He emphasized that public awareness alone is no longer an adequate defense against this accelerated threat landscape, making a coordinated, multi-institutional response non-negotiable.
INEC is taking proactive measures in the face of these challenges. The Chairman disclosed that the Commission is aggressively strengthening its technological and communications systems to proactively detect manipulated content, verify suspicious information, and issue rapid, authoritative clarifications across both traditional and digital media platforms.
A key outcome expected from the summit is the institutionalization of a United Front for Information Integrity. To achieve this, Prof. Amupitan called for the immediate development of clear inter-agency escalation protocols, institutionalized fact-checking channels, and practical simulation exercises to prepare all stakeholders for possible AI-driven information crises during peak electoral periods.
Critically, the Chairman balanced the call to action by underscoring that all countermeasures must strictly adhere to the protection of fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, press freedom, and legitimate political dissent. He stressed that combatting misinformation must not be manipulated into a justification for state overreach or censorship.
The summit was anchored by distinguished voices reflecting global and domestic consensus. Former INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, presiding as Chairman of the occasion, defined AI as a powerful modern tool with great potential to improve efficiency, but stressed that understanding the specific challenges of its deployment in the electoral environment is an unavoidable prerequisite for Nigeria's 2027 preparations.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, delivered a poignant warning, stating that elections can be decisively undermined without a single ballot being physically altered, through fabricated official statements and false claims about results designed to mislead voters and deepen public distrust. He reaffirmed the EU's commitment to supporting initiatives focused on information integrity, media resilience, and responsible digital engagement.
Dr. Dili Ezughah, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council, representing the Minister of Information, argued that electoral integrity extends far beyond the technical acts of voting, counting, and announcing results to encompass the quality of the information environment available to citizens before, during, and after elections. He added that Nigeria's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published in 2024, provides a foundational framework for ensuring responsible, inclusive, and accountable AI deployment across all sectors.
Speaking on behalf of a civil society coalition, Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC), Mr. Lanre Arogundade, observed that the contest for citizens' trust is already playing out on digital platforms long before voters reach polling units.
Prof. Amupitan made it clear that the nature of electoral interference has fundamentally evolved.
Threats are no longer limited to physical disruption at polling units but now include sophisticated, persistent digital manipulation capable of eroding public confidence in institutions and outcomes long before voting begins.
While acknowledging that AI holds the potential to significantly enhance administrative efficiency within election management bodies, the Chairman warned that it is equally weaponizable.
Bad actors can leverage these tools to generate highly convincing deepfakes, clone voices, fabricate official announcements, and execute coordinated disinformation campaigns at scale.
He emphasized that public awareness alone is no longer an adequate defense against this accelerated threat landscape, making a coordinated, multi-institutional response non-negotiable.
INEC is taking proactive measures in the face of these challenges. The Chairman disclosed that the Commission is aggressively strengthening its technological and communications systems to proactively detect manipulated content, verify suspicious information, and issue rapid, authoritative clarifications across both traditional and digital media platforms.
A key outcome expected from the summit is the institutionalization of a United Front for Information Integrity. To achieve this, Prof. Amupitan called for the immediate development of clear inter-agency escalation protocols, institutionalized fact-checking channels, and practical simulation exercises to prepare all stakeholders for possible AI-driven information crises during peak electoral periods.
Critically, the Chairman balanced the call to action by underscoring that all countermeasures must strictly adhere to the protection of fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, press freedom, and legitimate political dissent. He stressed that combatting misinformation must not be manipulated into a justification for state overreach or censorship.
The summit was anchored by distinguished voices reflecting global and domestic consensus. Former INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, presiding as Chairman of the occasion, defined AI as a powerful modern tool with great potential to improve efficiency, but stressed that understanding the specific challenges of its deployment in the electoral environment is an unavoidable prerequisite for Nigeria's 2027 preparations.
The European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, delivered a poignant warning, stating that elections can be decisively undermined without a single ballot being physically altered, through fabricated official statements and false claims about results designed to mislead voters and deepen public distrust. He reaffirmed the EU's commitment to supporting initiatives focused on information integrity, media resilience, and responsible digital engagement.
Dr. Dili Ezughah, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council, representing the Minister of Information, argued that electoral integrity extends far beyond the technical acts of voting, counting, and announcing results to encompass the quality of the information environment available to citizens before, during, and after elections. He added that Nigeria's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, published in 2024, provides a foundational framework for ensuring responsible, inclusive, and accountable AI deployment across all sectors.
Speaking on behalf of a civil society coalition, Executive Director of the International Press Centre (IPC), Mr. Lanre Arogundade, observed that the contest for citizens' trust is already playing out on digital platforms long before voters reach polling units.
He called for intensified, seamless collaboration among the media, election management bodies, and civil society to identify, verify, and counter false electoral narratives effectively.
Organized by the IPC and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) with support from the European Union under the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria programme and DAI, the summit is engineered to produce practical, actionable commitments for protecting Nigeria's electoral information environment.
Technical presentations setting the operational stage included a call for preparedness and democratic resistance by Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, as well as a comprehensive mapping of the electoral information environment covering AI-generated content, FIMI, hate speech, and coordinated manipulation presented by Dr. Monday Ashibogwu and Prof. Lambe Mustapha.
Additionally, a focused panel session titled "Voters, Voices and Algorithms: Who Is Most Exposed?" featured insights from Dayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman; Ade Atobatele, Founder of Bootstrap Africa; and Dr. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, Founder of Rise Network, with moderation by broadcast journalist Maupe Ogun-Yusuf.
Organized by the IPC and the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO) with support from the European Union under the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria programme and DAI, the summit is engineered to produce practical, actionable commitments for protecting Nigeria's electoral information environment.
Technical presentations setting the operational stage included a call for preparedness and democratic resistance by Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, as well as a comprehensive mapping of the electoral information environment covering AI-generated content, FIMI, hate speech, and coordinated manipulation presented by Dr. Monday Ashibogwu and Prof. Lambe Mustapha.
Additionally, a focused panel session titled "Voters, Voices and Algorithms: Who Is Most Exposed?" featured insights from Dayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman; Ade Atobatele, Founder of Bootstrap Africa; and Dr. Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, Founder of Rise Network, with moderation by broadcast journalist Maupe Ogun-Yusuf.
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