Nigeria: How the pcoming elections are influeced by the rise of AI disinformation

As Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 polls, the use of artificial intelligence in the electoral process has prompted questions about integrity and institutional readiness. Can Nigerians trust their democratic processes?

Nigeria has just over two months to go to the polls, with incumbent President Bola Tinubu running on a ticket focused on combating raging insecurity and resolving the nation's economic crisis . He faces off against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and senior opposition figure Peter Obi.

The country's electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), recently released its preliminary voter's register, which reportedly is riddled with images believed to have been generated using artificial intelligence (AI) . Among the telltale signs of AI usage were exaggerated facial features in images, and inconsistencies on the electoral registers, such as duplicates of names and even identities of people who since the previous election had died.