Babalola demands disclosure of digital platforms, security testing of INEC portals, accountability reports
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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
A legal practitioner, Olumide Babalola, has warned that Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 general elections could be undermined by unregulated artificial intelligence (AI), opaque digital platforms and inadequate accountability mechanisms for technology companies involved in the electoral process.
Babalola called for comprehensive security testing of election-related platforms, greater transparency in political advertising and clear channels for reporting digital threats, warning that manipulated content and the misuse of voters’ personal data could erode public confidence in the polls.
He made the recommendations during a masterclass session titled “Who Guards the Digital Gatekeepers? Platform Accountability in the 2027 Elections” at the AI and Democracy Forum, organised by Yiaga Africa in partnership with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Microsoft, TikTok, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), Dataphyte, the MacArthur Foundation, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and other partners.
Babalola argued that digital platforms had become powerful influences on electoral choices, extending their impact beyond voter education and public debate to the information voters receive, the narratives they believe and the candidates they perceive to be winning.
He said Nigeria needed to establish the groundwork for holding technology companies and electoral institutions accountable before the 2027 elections, rather than waiting for digital threats to materialise during or after voting.
“Establish the groundwork. Mark my word, I did not say framework,” he said, urging stakeholders to identify all digital platforms that would influence the elections and make their operations open to public scrutiny.
The lawyer identified deceptive information, AI-generated synthetic media, coordinated manipulation, voter-data breaches and opaque content moderation as threats requiring urgent attention.
He said the growing sophistication of digital tools meant that fabricated content could increasingly appear authentic, making it difficult for voters to distinguish genuine electoral information from deliberate manipulation.
According to him, the influence of digital platforms extends beyond the circulation of information because their algorithms determine, to a significant extent, what users see and how frequently particular messages reach them.
“You don’t even know you are being manipulated because of the things they constantly bring to you,” he said, warning that the repeated exposure of voters to targeted narratives could influence their perceptions and decisions.
Babalola also cautioned that AI would play a significant role in the coming elections, including the generation and circulation of content capable of misleading the electorate.
He urged stakeholders to examine the security and transparency of technology systems used in election administration, including platforms for transmitting and publishing results.
He called for vulnerability assessments and penetration testing to identify weaknesses that could be exploited to compromise election-related systems.
He also questioned whether Nigerians had sufficient information to assess the resilience of the commission’s digital systems, arguing that public confidence required more than assurances from electoral authorities.
Babalola urged INEC to publish a comprehensive list of platforms and technology vendors expected to play significant roles in the 2027 elections, alongside information on their responsibilities and the safeguards governing their operations.
He further recommended that the commission publish accountability reports after the elections, detailing the systems deployed, incidents recorded, service disruptions experienced and measures taken to address identified weaknesses.
Referring to the technical difficulties associated with uploading results during the 2023 general elections, he said the experience demonstrated how system failures could affect public trust.
The lawyer also called for greater transparency in political advertising, particularly the use of voters’ personal information to target campaign messages.
He said voters should be able to identify who sponsored political advertisements and understand how their telephone numbers and other personal information were obtained.
“Political advertising. Who paid? Who sponsored the message?” he asked, arguing that disclosure would help establish responsibility for campaign messages and provide a basis for addressing abuses.
He warned that personal information held by digital platforms, telecommunications companies and other service providers could be exploited to influence voters without their knowledge.
Babalola said the increasing connection between telephone numbers, bank accounts, national identification records and other personal information made data protection a critical component of election integrity.
He urged regulators and law enforcement agencies to enforce existing data protection provisions and investigate the unauthorised exposure of sensitive information.
The lawyer also called for technology companies to explain how their algorithms rank, recommend, restrict or remove election-related content.
He said decisions to suspend accounts or remove posts should be accompanied by meaningful explanations, particularly where such actions could affect political participation and public debate.
According to him, automated moderation systems must also take account of Nigeria’s cultural and linguistic diversity to avoid misinterpreting legitimate expressions or criticism as abusive or hateful content.
While advocating accountability, Babalola warned against using election integrity as a justification for suppressing freedom of expression.
“The moment you even begin to regulate speech, that means you want to turn all of us to dumb,” he said, calling for clear rules that distinguish harmful disinformation from legitimate criticism.
He maintained that election-related content should be assessed on the basis of evidence and applicable law, rather than being removed simply because it is critical of a political candidate, party or public institution.
Babalola said accountability would require clearly defined responsibilities for INEC, technology companies, civil society organisations, regulators and security agencies.
He urged INEC to establish an authoritative channel through which voters, journalists and other stakeholders could verify election-related information, including claims about results and voting procedures.
He said the commission should publicise the channel widely so that Nigerians would know where to obtain verified information when confronted with questionable reports circulating online.
Technology companies, he added, should preserve relevant digital evidence and provide accessible mechanisms for reporting suspected violations, while civil society organisations should support election monitoring, fact-checking and voter education.
He also urged stakeholders to agree in advance on what constitutes an electoral incident, how reports should be assessed and which institutions should respond to particular categories of threats.
The lawyer said the process should include reviewing applicable laws, mapping civil society organisations involved in election monitoring and establishing reliable channels for information sharing before the election period.
He further called for periodic assessments of digital platforms during the elections, with relevant institutions monitoring emerging threats and issuing verified public information.
On the role of security agencies, Babalola urged the police to consider the data protection provisions of existing legislation when investigating digital abuses, rather than focusing exclusively on offences traditionally associated with cybercrime.
He argued that regulatory enforcement should protect citizens’ rights and should not be applied selectively in favour of wealthy or influential individuals.
Babalola said effective coordination would help ensure that complaints were properly assessed, relevant evidence preserved and corrective action taken through appropriate channels.
He stressed that accountability should not end when voting concludes, urging electoral authorities and technology companies to publish post-election reports documenting their performance and the challenges encountered.
The masterclass, moderated by Akintunde Babatunde, Executive Director of CJID, examined how digital platforms manage election integrity and how coordination among technology companies, electoral authorities and civil society could be strengthened ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The session focused on transparency, accountability, information sharing and collaborative responses to emerging threats, while emphasising the need to protect voters’ rights and legitimate interests.
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