Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab (DigiAfricaLab) and Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) co-hosted the PAACA-DigiAfricaLab Policy Dialogue on Electoral Offences, Peaceful Elections, Responsible Use of Social Media and Consequence Management at Ideal Nest Hotel, Osogbo, on Thursday, 23 July 2026.
The engagement took place ahead of the 15 August Osun State governorship election and formed part of efforts to support peaceful participation, responsible digital conduct and stakeholder preparedness before, during and after Election Day.
DigiAfricaLab introduced, designed and facilitated the responsible social media use and digital threats component of the dialogue, including the “Recognise. Avoid. Respond.” public education framework, the “Digital Threats Do Not Stay Online” public education guide, the practical scenario exercise and the invitation to join Osun Digital Peace Ambassadors.
The dialogue convened stakeholders from election administration, public orientation, security, traditional and religious institutions, civil society, youth groups, academia, the media, and digital content creation spaces.
Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu, Executive Director of PAACA, delivered the welcome remarks.
Goodwill remarks were delivered by Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC Osun State; Mr. Adebiyi Stephen Adefarasin, Osun State Director of the National Orientation Agency; DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, Police Public Relations Officer, who represented CP Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command; and His Royal Majesty Oba Qamorudeen Bello Adeyemi Adeyanju, the Olororuwo of Ororuwo, Boripe Local Government Area, Osun State.
In her goodwill remarks, Mrs. Babalola described the forthcoming governorship election as a significant milestone and commended the organisers for bringing key stakeholders together to deliberate on issues fundamental to Nigeria’s democracy. She emphasised that peaceful elections require tolerance, mutual respect, civility, dialogue and accountability, while urging stakeholders to reject violence, misinformation, disinformation, vote buying, voter intimidation and other forms of electoral malpractice.
Mrs. Babalola also highlighted the influence of social media on modern elections, noting that while digital platforms support information-sharing and civic engagement, they can also be used to spread misinformation, manipulate public opinion and erode confidence in electoral institutions. She encouraged civil society organisations, including DigiAfricaLab, to continue their work in voter education, policy advocacy, election observation, digital literacy and responsible civic participation.
In his goodwill remarks, Mr. Adefarasin urged residents to verify information before sharing it on social media and to use digital platforms to promote peace, tolerance and credible democratic participation.
The goodwill remarks delivered on behalf of CP Ibrahim Gotan reaffirmed the Osun State Police Command’s commitment to supporting a peaceful, secure and credible electoral process, while stressing that peaceful elections require collaboration among INEC, security agencies, political actors, the media, civil society organisations, traditional and religious leaders, youth groups and citizens.
The dialogue also benefited from the reflections of traditional leadership. His Royal Majesty Oba Qamorudeen Bello Adeyemi Adeyanju shared a firsthand experience of how viral misinformation can affect public trust, reputation and community peace. His remarks reinforced the need for responsible digital conduct at community level.
Professor Adetunji Ogunyemi of the Department of History and International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, delivered the keynote address on electoral offences, peaceful elections and democratic governance.
As part of the responsible social media use component, DigiAfricaLab delivered a presentation titled “Digital Threats Do Not Stay Online: Responsible Social Media Use and Peaceful Elections in Osun State, Nigeria”.
The session focused on how online behaviour can shape offline election risks before, during and after voting. DigiAfricaLab emphasised that digital threats are broader than misinformation. They include online content, behaviour, manipulation, poor platform responses or technology failures that can mislead, intimidate, inflame, exclude, endanger people or undermine participation.
These threats may include false security claims, impersonation, online voter intimidation, identity-based incitement, doxxing, targeted harassment, manipulated or recycled media, coordinated manipulation, paid amplification and premature result claims.
DigiAfricaLab also stressed that responsibility does not rest only on citizens. Digital threats can be enabled or worsened by platform rules, design choices, weak or delayed content moderation, recommendation systems and algorithms that reward outrage, monetisation incentives that encourage sensational content, and limited understanding of local languages, political contexts and offline risks by foreign technology platforms.
At the same time, DigiAfricaLab made clear that responsible social media use must not be confused with censorship. Citizens must remain free to criticise political actors, question institutions, report concerns, observe elections and demand accountability. Responsible digital conduct simply means that people should not mislead, intimidate, incite, impersonate, dox or amplify harmful claims that may put people, communities or the electoral process at risk.
DigiAfricaLab also encouraged stronger collaboration across print, broadcast and online media to maximise fact-checking capacity, reduce duplication, strengthen verification and ensure that harmful election-related claims are addressed quickly and responsibly.
The session further stressed the importance of cross-stakeholder coordination among INEC, security agencies, NOA, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, media practitioners, influencers and community networks, especially when digital threats create confusion, fear or public tension.
During the session, DigiAfricaLab introduced its public education framework: Recognise. Avoid. Respond.
The framework encourages stakeholders and citizens to:
Recognise risky election-related content;
Avoid amplifying harmful claims; and
Respond responsibly through verification, careful documentation, correction and safe reporting.
Participants also took part in a practical scenario exercise on how stakeholders should respond when an unverified message claiming violence in several local government areas begins to circulate on election morning. The exercise highlighted the importance of quick verification, calm communication, evidence preservation, responsible reporting and avoiding mass amplification of unverified claims.
During the practical scenario exercise, DSP Afolabi Ojelabi, who represented the Osun State Commissioner of Police, described how the Police would verify unconfirmed election-day security claims by identifying the locations mentioned, contacting officers on the ground, and providing calm, timely public communication where necessary.
DigiAfricaLab also distributed a one-page public education guide titled “Digital Threats Do Not Stay Online”, which outlines digital threats to watch for during elections and provides practical steps for responsible social media use.
The session concluded with an invitation for participants to join Osun Digital Peace Ambassadors, a non-partisan network supporting responsible social media use, peaceful election messaging and safe reporting of serious digital threats ahead of the Osun governorship election.
Speaking on the importance of responsible digital conduct, DigiAfricaLab Founder and Executive Director, Rosemary Ajayi, said: “Responsible social media use is not silence. Citizens can criticise, question, report, observe and demand accountability. But we must not mislead, intimidate, incite, impersonate, dox or amplify harmful claims that may put people, communities or the electoral process at risk.”
She added:“Digital threats do not stay online. A single message, image, video, false result claim or impersonation account can create fear, suppress participation, inflame tension or damage trust. Our message to stakeholders and citizens is simple: recognise the risk, avoid amplification and respond responsibly.”
DigiAfricaLab’s participation, public education materials and follow-up work from the dialogue were made possible with support from Luminate, as part of DigiAfricaLab’s wider work to build digital safety and defence infrastructure, advance platform accountability and generate evidence-based approaches to safeguarding elections and civic participation in Africa.
DigiAfricaLab will continue to share responsible social media resources with Osun stakeholders and members of the Osun Digital Peace Ambassadors network in the lead-up to the governorship election.
Lessons from the Osun engagement will also inform DigiAfricaLab’s wider election preparedness work, including public education, digital threat reporting pathways, platform accountability and the development of a broader Digital Peace Ambassadors network across Nigeria.