Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, and other experts have called for urgent measures to tackle artificial intelligence-driven misinformation ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

They spoke at the two-day Beyond the Ballot Summit, which brought together more than 300 stakeholders from electoral institutions, the media, civil society, security agencies and the technology sector.

The summit was organised by the International Press Centre, the Centre for Media and Society and DAI, with support from the European Union.

Jega urged INEC to adopt AI responsibly, including verified chatbots to strengthen voter education, information verification and public communication.

In her keynote address, Professor Abigael Ogwezzy-Ndisika of the University of Lagos warned that deepfakes, fabricated result sheets and foreign interference could undermine electoral credibility.

She advocated early-warning systems, rapid verification and stronger institutional collaboration, while cautioning against internet shutdowns.

IPC Executive Director, Dr. Lanre Arogundade, cited Nigeria Factcheckers’ Coalition findings showing that 63 per cent of the presidential and National Assembly election claims it reviewed during the 2023 polls were entirely false.

Digital communication expert Aminu Kajuru called for preventive education and the dissemination of electoral information in indigenous languages and Nigerian Pidgin.

Participants urged political parties, journalists, technology companies and citizens to work together to combat misinformation, stressing that credible information and public trust would be essential to successful elections in 2027.