The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has warned of the risk of manipulation through artificial intelligence ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, adding to growing concern about deepfakes and synthetic media in the run-up to the polls.

The agency’s warning comes with the elections less than 100 days away and as electoral authorities, civil society groups and technology companies look for ways to limit the damage AI-generated falsehoods could do to voters’ trust. NITDA has also recently cautioned Nigerians about AI-enabled threats such as deepfake impersonation and voice cloning, and advised the public to be wary of urgent-sounding messages that use synthetic audio or doctored visuals.

At the AI and Democracy Forum 2026, held in Abuja from October 14 to 16 and organised by Yiaga Africa and partners, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Joash Amupitan, listed AI-generated videos, fabricated audio, manipulated images, targeted political advertising, algorithmic bias and automated cyberattacks as threats to the integrity of the elections. He said the commission has set up a specialised AI unit to detect deepfakes and counter online information manipulation, and insisted that “algorithms will not, and must never, decide the 2027 vote”. He urged political parties to adopt an ethical code governing the use of AI in campaigns.

Participants at the forum warned that deepfakes, cloned voices and coordinated disinformation could undermine public confidence in the results. Their outcome document called on INEC to publish an election-specific AI governance framework and a transparent protocol for handling results. It also said AI-flagged duplicate registrations or unusual results should lead to documented human review and not automatic deletion or rejection.

Technology platforms were urged to label AI-generated political content and to strengthen moderation in Nigerian languages. Political parties and candidates were asked to disclose synthetic campaign content and refrain from deceptive impersonation, while newsrooms were encouraged to set up digital forensics desks.

INEC’s own use of AI has also drawn political fire. The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the commission of planning to use the technology to rig the elections in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and questioned why it had not been tested in off-cycle polls such as the Osun election. INEC has rejected the claim, maintaining that AI will only support election administration and that Nigerians alone will decide who governs them.