Information Warfare and Nigeria’s Diplomatic Vulnerabilities: An Analysis of Foreign Disinformation Campaigns

This study analyses the phenomenon of foreign-origin disinformation campaigns targeting Nigeria's political and diplomatic environment, examining how information warfare conducted by external state and non-state actors undermines Nigeria's national security and diplomatic credibility. Nigeria has been identified as a significant target of Russian-linked disinformation operations, particularly through social media platforms and pseudo-news outlets amplifying narratives that exacerbate ethnic and religious tensions or delegitimise Nigeria's government and its ECOWAS relationships. Drawing on information warfare theory and the securitisation of information space, this research analyses documented disinformation campaigns affecting Nigeria from 2019 to 2024, using platform transparency reports, digital forensics findings from the EU DisinfoLab and Stanford Internet Observatory, and qualitative case analysis of three major disinformation episodes. The study examines the specific diplomatic vulnerabilities that make Nigeria susceptible to information warfare, including its ethnically diverse media environment, high social media penetration, and weak public information literacy. Findings are expected to demonstrate that foreign disinformation has measurable effects on public discourse on Nigeria's foreign policy decisions, particularly regarding ECOWAS and Western partner relations. The research contributes to the emerging literature on information warfare in African political contexts and provides recommendations for building Nigeria's strategic communications resilience. Keywords: disinformation, information warfare, Nigeria, diplomatic vulnerability, social media.