It was a moment of quiet triumph in a room otherwise consumed by heavy conversation. At the Nigerian Press Council’s National Summit on Curbing Fake News and Misinformation, held at the NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja, Dr Brendan Innocent Usoro, Executive Chairman of Miden Systems Limited, stepped forward to receive the Excellence in Corporate Governance and Business Integrity Award. The recognition came not from a trade association or a commercial rating agency, but from a body devoted to the health of the media ecosystem—an organisation deeply aware that truth, trust and transparency are the oxygen of both journalism and business. For Usoro, the award was more than a personal honour; it was a signal that ethical leadership matters in a country where falsehoods travel faster than facts, and where reputations can be destroyed by a single manipulated post. Surrounded by policymakers, journalists, military officials and corporate leaders, he accepted the plaque with a mixture of gratitude and gravitas, fully aware that the conversation at the summit was not abstract. It was about survival—of institutions, of democracy, and of the simple human right to know what is real.
In his address, Usoro did not mince words. Misinformation, he warned, is not a nuisance; it is a weapon. It threatens national security, undermines democratic stability, erodes business confidence and poisons peaceful coexistence. With the 2027 general elections looming, he saw the danger as especially acute. The tools of deception have become more sophisticated, he noted, pointing to the growing misuse of artificial intelligence to fabricate audio recordings, manipulate videos and circulate misleading reports. What once required expensive editing equipment can now be done with a phone and a malicious intent. The result is that ordinary Nigerians can no longer easily tell the difference between credible information and outright falsehood. He described a pattern: false information is used to de-market political opponents, to smear the products and services of competitors, and to create tension in the polity. His voice carried the weight of someone who had seen the consequences up close, and he made it clear that the problem was not merely technological but deeply human—rooted in greed, ambition and the willingness to destroy what cannot be fairly won.
Yet Usoro did not only offer warnings; he offered a path forward. He called for coordinated action across government institutions, media organisations, technology companies and citizens themselves. He urged Nigerians to pause before hitting share, to verify reports before amplifying them, and to treat independent fact-checking organisations like Dubawa as essential resources rather than optional tools. He also pressed for better training for journalists and fact-checkers, and for wider access to artificial intelligence-assisted verification tools that can help expose deepfakes and manipulated content. In particular, he called on technology companies and regulators—including the National Information Technology Development Agency and the Nigerian Communications Commission—to strengthen their collaboration against malicious synthetic media. But he was equally careful to sound a note of caution: the fight against misinformation must not become an excuse to suppress press freedom, muzzle free expression or silence legitimate criticism. In other words, the cure must not be worse than the disease. He envisioned a society where truth is defended not by censorship, but by stronger institutions, better tools and more discerning citizens.
Usoro’s warnings were not abstract. He spoke openly about the damage that false information can inflict on a company, drawing on Miden Systems’ own painful experience. He alleged that the company and its executives had been targeted following a financial dispute with a commercial bank, and that the resulting wave of misinformation had caused real harm. It was a reminder that behind every viral falsehood is a business, a family, or a reputation under siege. When he spoke of Miden Systems’ history, he grounded the moment in decades of work: founded in 1997, the company had grown from safety and equipment maintenance services into marine services, logistics, and offshore and onshore facility upgrades, maintenance and management. Its clients included major names in the oil and gas sector—Renaissance Africa Energy Company, ExxonMobil, Nigeria LNG Limited, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, Port Harcourt Refinery Company, Addax Petroleum and Nigerian Agip Oil Company. For Usoro, these were not just contracts; they were proof that trust, built slowly over time, could be jeopardised in an instant by a single piece of malicious fiction. That is why the award meant so much to him.
Expressing appreciation for the honour, Usoro reaffirmed a simple but powerful commitment: “We remain committed to ethical, honest and transparent business transactions at all levels of our operations.” In an era when corporate leaders often speak in vague platitudes, his words carried weight because they were tied to real action and real risk. The summit itself, as explained by Dr Dili Ezughah, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Press Council, was designed to strengthen the media ecosystem, promote responsible journalism and improve the capacity of media professionals to combat misinformation. With the 2027 elections approaching, Ezughah warned that fake news and propaganda could undermine democratic processes, and so the summit brought together media practitioners, policymakers, government officials, corporate executives, security agencies and other stakeholders. The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, represented by his Special Adviser on Intelligence, Musa Likita, described misinformation as a threat to national security, democratic governance and peaceful coexistence. Similarly, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, represented by Dr Haruna Suleiman, urged media organisations to strengthen editorial oversight, verify sources and correct errors promptly. Both officials echoed Usoro’s call for cooperation, and both recognised that the problem is systemic, not isolated.
Usoro was not the only award recipient. The ceremony honoured Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule, Defence Minister Christopher Musa, Information Minister Mohammed Idris, Barrister Obioma Success Akagburuonye, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha and Federal Commissioner for Salaries, Income and Wages Dr Yakubu Barde. Each in their own way had demonstrated a commitment to integrity and service. But the true takeaway from the summit was not the list of names; it was the collective recognition that misinformation is a shared burden and a shared threat. The event ended with calls for stronger collaboration among government institutions, media organisations, businesses and citizens—to promote credible information, protect reputations and strengthen public trust while safeguarding press freedom. For Dr Brendan Innocent Usoro, the day was a reminder that integrity is not a plaque on a wall; it is a daily practice. In a country where lies can spread like wildfire, the quiet, stubborn work of telling the truth, verifying sources and refusing to profit from chaos may be the most radical act of all. And that, perhaps, is the real message of the summit: that the fight against misinformation begins not in boardrooms or newsrooms, but in the conscience of every person who chooses fact over fiction, fairness over expediency, and trust over division.