Nigerian police target automated account farms ahead of 2027
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Punch
Nigerian police have launched operations to track down phone farms and automated account farms that artificially inflate online engagement and manipulate opinion ahead of the 2027 general elections. The announcement was made by a representative of Inspector General Tunji Disu during a PUNCH Media Foundation webinar on AI and disinformation, where electoral stakeholders called for stricter measures.
The Nigerian police have deployed cyber-intelligence and digital forensics capabilities to identify networks involved in malicious information manipulation ahead of the 2027 general elections. Inspector General of Police Tunji Disu, represented by Deputy Commissioner Bashir Abdullahi, said the operations notably target phone farms and coordinated networks using automated accounts, Punch reports.
The police have also established an election monitoring room and begun intelligence gathering to combat disinformation generated by artificial intelligence, deepfakes and voice cloning, according to Disu. These measures were presented during a webinar organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation on artificial intelligence, disinformation and Nigeria’s 2027 elections.
INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education Mohammed Haruna, as well as representatives of FactsMatterNG, Yiaga Africa and the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation, took part in the discussions. Speakers called for stronger measures against artificial content likely to influence public opinion and voting, according to Punch.
The move comes after INEC removed AI-generated photos from the electoral register, announced on 11 November.
