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Urges security agencies to tackle digital threats without criminalising dissent
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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Executive Director of TechHerNG, Chioma Agwuegbo, has warned that inadequate content moderation by major technology companies, particularly in Nigerian languages, could allow inciting messages to spread unchecked and trigger violence during the 2027 general elections.
Agwuegbo said the limited capacity of digital platforms to detect and respond swiftly to harmful content in Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Kanuri, Fulfulde and other local languages posed a significant risk to electoral peace, especially in communities where inflammatory messages could provoke real-world attacks.
She urged technology companies to invest in culturally informed content moderation systems and strengthen collaboration with Nigerian security agencies to ensure that online threats were identified and addressed before they escalated into violence.
Agwuegbo spoke during a masterclass on “Who Guards the Digital Gatekeepers? Platform Accountability in the 2027 Elections” at the AI and Democracy Forum organised by Yiaga Africa and partners.
She warned that Nigeria could not safeguard its elections by focusing exclusively on digital platforms while neglecting the security implications of content circulated online.
“We can talk about digital gatekeepers all we want, but if there is no corresponding or commensurate offline gatekeeping or guarding, we are wasting our time,” she said.
“At the end of the day, we finish posting on social media, we finish doing everything, the ones who will be on the streets.”
Citing her experience monitoring online engagement during the 2011 general elections, Agwuegbo recalled that the monitoring team identified young women in a hostel who were in danger during the post-election violence.
She said the team contacted its established networks within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, leading to the women’s rescue.
According to her, the experience demonstrated that digital monitoring must be connected to effective offline responses to prevent harm.
Agwuegbo said the challenge had become more complicated as social media evolved from a platform for informal interactions into a major arena for political campaigns, propaganda and coordinated manipulation.
She noted that political actors increasingly deployed organised groups to monitor critics, flood their accounts with responses and spread misleading information in support of particular agendas.
She warned that such activities could intensify during the 2027 elections, when political campaigns would extend beyond rallies, television broadcasts and polling units to social media platforms and messaging applications.
The TechHerNG director argued that technology companies could not be treated as neutral intermediaries because their algorithms determine which content is recommended, amplified or restricted.
“Platforms are not neutral. Cambridge Analytica tells us that our platforms are not neutral. Our platforms ultimately want to make money,” she said.
Agwuegbo explained that algorithms used information gathered from different aspects of people’s lives to predict their interests and determine the content presented to them.
She warned that these systems could expose users to violent or manipulative material without them deliberately searching for it, potentially reinforcing harmful narratives and influencing political attitudes.
However, she identified inadequate local-language moderation as a particular concern ahead of the elections.
Citing information shared at a previous panel, Agwuegbo said about 25 Hausa-language moderators were reportedly available to oversee content for Nigeria and parts of West Africa where the language is spoken.
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She questioned whether such limited capacity could adequately address the volume of content circulating online, particularly during a politically sensitive period.
“If there is violence that is being perpetrated in Igbo, in Hausa, in Yoruba, in Kanuri, in Fulfulde, in whatever language, the chance that the platforms will take that content down really quickly is very, very slim,” she said.
She warned that delays in identifying and removing inciting content could expose communities to violence before platforms respond to complaints.
Agwuegbo therefore called on technology companies to strengthen their moderation capacity, recruit more local-language specialists and develop systems that take Nigeria’s cultural and linguistic context into account.
She said content moderation must recognise local expressions and cultural nuances while distinguishing legitimate political debate from genuine threats, incitement and coordinated abuse.
The TechHer director also urged security agencies to develop the expertise required to identify and investigate emerging digital threats, including AI-generated deepfakes, manipulated intimate images and coordinated online harassment.
She said perpetrators could now use artificial intelligence to fabricate sexual images of individuals, including manipulating photographs to remove the hijabs of Muslim women, exposing victims to humiliation, blackmail and possible reprisals within their communities.
Agwuegbo said security agencies must understand these forms of digital violence and respond appropriately, rather than dismissing threats until the harmful material had been published.
She also cautioned against using digital regulation as a pretext to suppress freedom of expression, insisting that peaceful protests and criticism of political leaders must not be conflated with cybercrime.
“We must protect citizens without criminalising dissent,” she said.
She urged civil society organisations to coordinate election monitoring across urban and rural communities, warning that electoral manipulation and violence could go undetected in areas with limited media and observer presence.
Agwuegbo also called for stronger collaboration between civil society groups and security institutions, while stressing that information-sharing arrangements must protect the identities and privacy of survivors of digital abuse.
On the role of citizens, she urged Nigerians to verify information as soon as they receive it, rather than waiting until they are about to forward it.
“Verify when you receive. A lot of times people say verify before forwarding, but I want to change that and say as you are receiving it, start verifying,” she said.
She warned against sharing old videos as current incidents or spreading claims of electoral violence without establishing their authenticity.
Agwuegbo further called on citizens to reject coordinated online attacks, particularly those targeting women, journalists and other individuals who express political opinions.
She said the credibility of the 2027 elections would depend partly on whether technology companies, security agencies and citizens could prevent digital manipulation from translating into real-world harm.
She also advised Nigerians to strengthen their digital security by enabling two-factor authentication, using different passwords across platforms and avoiding suspicious links.
Agwuegbo maintained that technology companies must be held accountable for the systems they operate, while security agencies must be equipped to respond to digital threats without undermining citizens’ fundamental rights.
