Obidient Movement challenges INEC over proposed AI use in 2027 election

The Obidient Movement has rejected the Independent National Electoral Commission’s proposed use of artificial intelligence in Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, calling for greater clarity about the technology and safeguards against abuse. The movement’s national coordinator, Yunusa Tanko, made the demand in a statement issued in Abuja after INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan said the commission had begun deploying AI tools ahead of the elections. Amupitan said the tools were being used to detect discrepancies and administrative errors in election results.

He also said INEC was strengthening its defences against AI-generated disinformation, including fake result sheets, cloned voices of officials, fabricated videos and forged documents. Tanko said the movement opposed the proposal because INEC had not explained how the systems would operate, which problems they were intended to solve or what measures would prevent misuse. He argued that technology could not guarantee credible elections without institutional accountability.

He cited a recent investigation by Mundx Analytics which, he said, found that presidential results from more than 50,000 polling units had been uploaded from people’s phones. The source material does not include a response from Mundx Analytics or INEC to that claim. The movement called on INEC to publish its full 2027 election plan, including its technologies, procedures and safeguards.

It also demanded an independent audit of electoral technology, public release of the findings and transparent, verifiable transmission of polling-unit results. Amupitan said INEC had created an Artificial Intelligence Division within its ICT Department and developed an AI Roadmap and Governance Framework. According to him, the framework includes human oversight, transparency, accountability, data protection, cybersecurity and public trust.