The Nigeria Police Force has intensified efforts to tackle artificial intelligence-generated misinformation ahead of the 2027 general elections, launching operations to identify and disrupt phone farms allegedly used to manipulate public opinion and spread fake news.
Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, disclosed this during a webinar organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation, where he said the police had deployed cyber-intelligence and digital forensic technologies to detect deepfakes, voice cloning and other forms of digital manipulation.
Represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bashir Abdullahi, the police chief revealed that targeted operations had uncovered facilities containing hundreds of mobile phones allegedly operated by individuals using automated accounts to create artificial online engagement and influence political conversations.
He also disclosed that the police had arrested a suspect accused of circulating false information about a political candidate from the South-South region to influence voters negatively.
Disu said the police had acquired technological solutions capable of detecting deepfakes and other AI-generated manipulations with up to 99 per cent accuracy. He added that the Force was collaborating with social media platforms, including Meta and TikTok, to identify those behind malicious content, request its removal and preserve digital evidence for prosecution.
The Inspector-General, however, assured Nigerians that the crackdown would not be used to suppress freedom of expression, noting that arrests would only be made where evidence establishes violations of the law.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that officials in about 10 states have been flagged for disciplinary action over the uploading of AI-generated photographs into the national voters’ register.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said the affected photographs had been removed, while the commission was working to finalise its policy on artificial intelligence ahead of the elections.
Other stakeholders at the webinar called on INEC, security agencies, media organisations and civil society groups to strengthen efforts against election-related disinformation.
The Founder of FactsMatterNG, Hannah Ajakaiye, urged media organisations to promote media literacy in local languages and work with social media influencers to help Nigerians identify and verify manipulated content.
Similarly, Yiaga Africa’s Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, stressed the need for INEC to provide timely and accurate information to build public confidence and prevent disinformation from discouraging voter participation.
The Director of Projects at the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, Mayowa Tijani, also called on media organisations to establish clear policies guiding the use of AI in newsrooms, stressing that human editorial judgment must remain central to news production.
The stakeholders warned that AI-generated videos, photographs and audio recordings could pose serious threats to the credibility of the 2027 elections if adequate measures were not taken to protect the electoral information space.
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