The Rise of Digital Hostility

With Nigeria's 2027 general elections drawing closer, concerns are mounting over the growing wave of online abuse targeting women in politics. The Centre for Redefining Alternative Civic Engagement for Africa (RACE Centre) has warned that female politicians face an increasingly coordinated campaign of cyberbullying, misinformation, and AI-generated smear attacks.

The warning was issued on Friday in Abuja during the unveiling of the Centre's AI-Enabled Online Gender-Based Violence (OGBV) Tracker. This digital platform is designed to monitor and document online violence against women across Africa, providing data-driven insights into the scale of the problem.

For many women aspiring to public office, these attacks often transcend political criticism. The abuse frequently becomes deeply personal, targeting physical appearance, dignity, and credibility rather than the candidate's ideas or professional competence.

AI Tracker Reveals Alarming Statistics

Executive Director of RACE Centre, Evelyn Ugbe, disclosed that the AI-powered platform had documented more than 20,000 verified cases of online abuse across Africa within just three months. Notably, Nigeria accounted for the highest number of these incidents. Ugbe warned that the situation could worsen as political campaigns gather momentum.

We are going into an election year, and we already foresee some dangers in terms of election-related online misinformation and disinformation. One thing we have seen consistently is this: women political office holders are targeted. The aim is to destroy their credibility and candidacy.

— Evelyn Ugbe, Executive Director, RACE Centre

To illustrate the trend, Ugbe cited the 2025 Anambra governorship election, where the Centre monitored online attacks against one of the female candidates. Instead of debating her manifesto, online users circulated AI-generated derogatory images and focused on mocking her physical appearance, which Ugbe noted completely undermined the candidate.

Monitoring Misogyny Through Technology

The AI tracker marks a significant shift from the RACE Centre's previous manual monitoring system, which had documented just over 500 cases. By leveraging artificial intelligence, the Centre was able to record more than 20,000 cases in only 90 days. The platform is now being expanded to capture online conversations in local languages and informal expressions.

We are building the tracker further by adding more local languages, slang and keywords, Pidgin, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, so it can catch what people are really saying online. We live in a highly patriarchal and misogynistic society. The violence you see offline is simply transferred online.

— Evelyn Ugbe, Executive Director, RACE Centre

Ugbe emphasized that violence, whether online or offline, requires strict enforcement and support for victims. She noted that because the abuse occurs in digital spaces, it is often dismissed as less serious, despite its profound impact on the democratic process and individual well-being.

Strengthening Electoral Safeguards

The RACE Centre has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), security agencies, and civil society organizations to strengthen monitoring mechanisms before the 2027 elections. The goal is to curb the growing menace of digital harassment before it discourages female participation in governance.

Emmanuella Azu, Regional Director, Expansion and Experience at WARDC Africa, described the launch of the tracker as timely. She noted that while social media is a powerful tool for campaigning, it has become a dangerous space where female candidates face manipulated images and coordinated harassment.

Before now we were shouting, but we had no data. With this tracker, we can go to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram and say, see the harm happening on your platform. That is the gain here.

— Emmanuella Azu, Regional Director, Expansion and Experience, WARDC Africa

The launch event was attended by more than 80 participants, including civil society leaders and student activists. The collective consensus highlighted that unchecked online violence threatens to stall Nigeria's democratic progress by creating a hostile environment for women in public life.