RismadarVoice Reporters
September 25, 2026
The Independent National Electoral Commission has begun deploying artificial intelligence tools to detect discrepancies and administrative errors in election result records ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, disclosed this at the All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu, where he also warned that AI-generated deepfakes, cloned voices and fabricated election materials could pose a major threat to public confidence in the electoral process.
Amupitan said the technology is being incorporated into INEC’s results management process to automatically scan records and flag possible discrepancies or administrative errors before final validation.
He stressed, however, that artificial intelligence would not replace electoral officials, saying every automated check would remain subject to human auditing and legal verification.
According to him, technology must complement rather than replace constitutional institutions and must remain under human control.
As part of the initiative, INEC has established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and developed an AI Roadmap and Governance Framework built around human oversight, transparency and accountability, data protection, cybersecurity and public trust.
The commission is also strengthening its defences against synthetic disinformation ahead of the elections.
Amupitan warned that emerging technology could be exploited to create fabricated videos of electoral officials announcing false results, cloned audio recordings, forged documents and manipulated result sheets.
He said the greater danger was not merely that such content could deceive members of the public, but that widespread manipulation could undermine confidence even in genuine information released by electoral authorities.
INEC has also held engagements with technology companies on cybersecurity resilience, cloud infrastructure protection and threat mitigation, while working with international election experts on capacity building, risk management and responsible AI integration.
Amupitan consequently urged Nigerian media organisations to strengthen their verification procedures ahead of the polls.
He advised newsrooms to establish fact-checking desks and integrate deepfake detection, digital verification and forensic image-analysis tools into election coverage.
The INEC chairman also cautioned against rushing to publish unverified or privately collated election results, stressing that accuracy should take precedence over speed.
Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for February 20, 2027, while governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are slated for March 6, 2027.
