• [File photo] L-R Prof Pat Utomi; Prof Chinyere Okunna and Eze Anaba President Nigerian Guild of Editors at the 22nd All Nigerian Editors Conference in Enugu. Photo. Nwankpa Chijioke.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has tasked news organisations and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with implementing far-reaching reforms to strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

The Guild, in a communiqué issued at the end of the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC 2026) in Enugu, called on newsrooms to institutionalise fact-checking and verification systems and integrate digital verification, deepfake detection and forensic tools into their editorial workflows.

The communiqué, signed by NGE President, Eze Anaba, and General Secretary, Onuoha Ukeh, also called for electoral reforms, including the introduction of a 50 per cent threshold for presidential elections and the resolution of electoral disputes before the swearing-in of declared winners.

The Guild urged all news organisations to adopt the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage (Revised 2022) and train journalists and other editorial staff on its provisions ahead of the 2027 elections.

The Code was jointly endorsed by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NGE, Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union, and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.

According to the Guild, the media has a critical responsibility to provide accurate, verified and independent information to the electorate while holding governments, political parties and other centres of power to account.

The NGE identified generative artificial intelligence, deepfakes, voice cloning and automated networks as major emerging threats to the integrity of electoral information.

The Guild warned that synthetic content could be produced and distributed rapidly, including fabricated election results, cloned voices of public officials, forged documents, manipulated result sheets and fake reports attributed to established media organisations.

The editors said the greatest danger was not merely the circulation of individual falsehoods but the broader erosion of public trust when citizens became unable to distinguish authentic information from fabricated content.

The conference, with the theme, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” was chaired by the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, while the Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan, delivered the keynote address.

Vice President Kashim Shettima participated virtually as Special Guest of Honour, while Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, served as Chief Host.

More than 500 editors, publishers and senior media practitioners from print, broadcast and digital platforms, alongside political, traditional, religious, academic, regulatory and development-sector leaders, attended the conference.

•Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih

A former Texas Southern University adjunct professor will serve 78 months in federal prison for a student financial aid fraud scheme that obtained more than $921,000 and left victims with debt in their names, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Dallas Express reported that Emmanuel Olugbaike Finnih, 43, of Richmond, is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Nigeria.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen imposed the prison sentence and three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said in a news release.

Finnih pleaded guilty March 20 to theft of government funds, fraud, unlawful use or transfer of identity documents, and aggravated identity theft.

Finnih submitted more than 100 fraudulent financial aid applications over approximately five years using other people’s identities at colleges and universities across Texas, prosecutors said.

He sought more than $1.3 million in federal grants and loans, and the scheme resulted in $921,189.08 in disbursements.

Finnih used other people’s personal information to complete and sign aid applications and master promissory notes.

He controlled the mailing addresses, phone numbers and email accounts that received communications from schools and the Department of Education, prosecutors said.

He then collected financial aid refunds through electronic transfers, checks and prepaid debit cards sent to addresses or accounts he controlled.

• Image credit: NIPOST

The Federal Government has launched the National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode System, urging Nigerians to find and begin using their postcodes.

The National Digital Alphanumeric Postcode, operated by the Nigerian Postal Service, gives every addressable building a unique 11-character code — the code is designed to provide a precise, GIS-enabled reference for identifying locations.system. Easier to find, share and use.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani announced the launch in a post on X on Thursday.

Tijani described the system as a step towards making locations across the country easier to identify and connecting people and businesses to services and opportunities.

Tijani said the system could help businesses reach customers beyond their immediate neighbourhoods, enable families to provide accurate locations during emergencies and help government agencies reach communities with essential services.

The minister encouraged Nigerians to search for their postcodes through the official Digital Postcode website, postcode.gov.ng, and share them with family members, friends and businesses.