The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has established a specialised artificial intelligence (AI) unit to monitor digital threats, detect deepfakes and counter online information manipulation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Joash Amupitan, INEC chairman, disclosed this at the Artificial Intelligence and Democracy Forum 2026 in Abuja, where he warned that the growing use of AI could influence voters’ decisions, disrupt electoral logistics and undermine public confidence in the electoral process.
Amupitan, who spoke on the theme, “Safeguarding the 2027 General Elections in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” said the commission would not surrender critical electoral decisions to automated systems, insisting that technology must support rather than replace human judgment.
“Algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote,” he declared, stressing that the choice of who governs Nigeria rests exclusively with the electorate.
The forum, convened by INEC and Yiaga Africa, brought together election management officials, political party representatives, civil society organisations, media executives, security agencies, technology companies, diplomats and development partners to examine the implications of artificial intelligence for electoral integrity.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the commission identified generative AI, deepfakes, synthetic media, targeted digital advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks as emerging threats that could complicate election administration and distort public debate.
“The greatest threat we face is not the hacking of a ballot box, but the hacking of the voter’s mind,” Amupitan warned, arguing that voters’ inability to distinguish authentic information from digitally fabricated content could weaken informed electoral choices.
The establishment of the specialised AI unit within INEC’s Information and Communication Technology Directorate is expected to strengthen the commission’s capacity to track digital threats through real-time monitoring tools, deepfake detection software and data analytics.
The initiative comes as political campaigns increasingly depend on digital communication platforms, creating opportunities for wider voter engagement but also exposing the electoral process to coordinated disinformation and manipulated content.
Amupitan said AI could nevertheless improve election administration if deployed with appropriate safeguards. Potential applications include predicting logistical challenges, optimising the distribution of electoral materials, assisting result audits, improving biometric databases, communicating with voters in multiple Nigerian languages and strengthening cybersecurity.
He maintained, however, that no critical electoral decision, including result collation, voter accreditation and candidate qualification, would be left entirely to autonomous systems.
“Human accountability, statutory oversight, and judicial review will remain paramount at every stage of the electoral chain,” he said.
The INEC chairman also outlined steps the commission had taken to prepare for the 2027 elections, including the procurement of additional Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) units, the digitisation of candidate nominations through the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal and the introduction of online voter registration.
According to him, the candidates’ nomination portal has processed more than 15,000 nominations across 22 political parties, while the commission has completed 10 of the 14 major operational milestones stipulated by the Electoral Act 2026.
Amupitan described the 2027 general elections as one of the continent’s largest democratic exercises, involving more than 103 million registered voters and 176,846 polling units across 774 local government areas.
The scale of the exercise, covering presidential, National Assembly, governorship and state assembly elections, makes the protection of electoral information and the security of digital infrastructure particularly important.
Beyond deploying technology, the commission called for coordinated action by political parties, the media, civil society, security agencies, telecommunications operators and the judiciary.
It urged political parties to adopt an ethical code governing the use of AI in campaigns, while asking civil society organisations to examine algorithmic transparency and monitor digital campaign spending.
Security agencies and judicial institutions were encouraged to strengthen their expertise in cybercrime investigations and digital forensics, while media organisations were advised to establish digital forensic desks to verify user-generated content before publication or broadcast.
The commission also proposed an Electoral Information Integrity Coalition involving INEC, civil society groups, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the Nigeria Fact-Checking Coalition, media organisations and telecommunications operators.
The proposed coalition would serve as an early-warning network to identify and respond to viral falsehoods generated or amplified through artificial intelligence.
The chairman said the objective was not to exclude technology from elections but to ensure that its deployment strengthened transparency, accountability and public trust.
He stressed that the outcome of the 2027 elections must reflect the choices of Nigerians rather than the predictions or preferences generated by digital systems.
For INEC, the challenge will be to translate the new AI monitoring capacity and proposed partnerships into practical safeguards capable of detecting manipulated content, responding quickly to disinformation and preserving voters’ access to reliable electoral information.
The commission’s position is that while artificial intelligence may reshape the conduct of campaigns and the administration of elections, responsibility for determining electoral outcomes must remain with voters and the institutions established by law to protect their choices.
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