Security Chiefs Fear AI Deepfakes Could Fuel Crisis, Undermine Public Trust

Nigeria’s security chiefs have raised concerns over the growing threat of artificial intelligence-generated fake videos, audio recordings and images.

They warned that disinformation and conflicting official statements could undermine security operations, erode public trust and threaten the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

They spoke yesterday at the Second National Symposium on Crisis Communication, organised by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) in Kaduna, with the theme, “Inter-agency Collaboration, Public Trust and Cyber Threat Management in Crisis Communication”.

The chairman of the CCC, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade (rtd), said communication had become a critical component of national security, warning that institutions could no longer afford to treat public information as an afterthought during crises.

He said delayed or contradictory official statements created information vacuums that could be exploited by individuals seeking to mislead the public and undermine confidence in government institutions.

Crime estimating that the country lost N1.1 trillion to cybercrime between 2017 and 2023.

A representative of the minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, Maj-Gen. Khalifa Ibrahim (rtd), said Nigeria’s security challenges required a coordinated response involving government institutions, security agencies and the public.
He identified insurgency in the North-East, kidnapping in the North-West and separatist agitations in other parts of the country as examples of threats that could not be effectively addressed by individual agencies working in isolation.

Ibrahim called for timely and consistent communication to ensure that Nigerians received verified information during emergencies rather than relying on rumours and unsubstantiated reports.

Representing the Chief of Defence Staff, Brig.-Gen. Murtala Abu said the growing complexity of terrorism, kidnapping, cybercrime, oil theft and communal conflicts made collaboration indispensable to national security.

He warned, however, that cooperation among security agencies would remain inadequate if their public communication efforts were not equally coordinated.

“Operational collaboration without communication collaboration is incomplete,” Abu said.

In a keynote address delivered on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Security Consulting, Dr. Kabir Adamu, Mr. Samuel Aruwan said the speed, credibility and source of information released during security incidents could determine whether citizens followed safety instructions, cooperated with security agencies or resorted to panic and speculation.

Aruwan said government institutions must strike a balance between the public’s right to information and the protection of classified information and sensitive security operations.

He cautioned against ethnic profiling in efforts to tackle banditry, insisting that criminal activities should be addressed without shielding suspects on the basis of religion or ethnicity.

Declaring the symposium open on behalf of Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Ahmed Maiyaki, said public confidence was as important as operational efforts in tackling insecurity.

Maiyaki said misinformation could threaten peaceful coexistence, weaken democratic institutions and undermine cooperation between communities and security agencies.

He said the Kaduna State Government’s Kaduna Peace Model emphasised dialogue, community participation, intelligence sharing and early warning as part of efforts to achieve sustainable peace.

According to him, security operations alone could not resolve the country’s challenges without the involvement of communities and other relevant stakeholders.

Maiyaki urged authorities to correct inaccurate information promptly, warning that official silence could create an information vacuum that encouraged speculation.