Atiku Abubakar Warns Outdated BVAS Software Risks Election Integrity

Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has raised cybersecurity alarms regarding the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of Nigeria's 2027 general elections and an upcoming governorship election in Osun State. The warnings follow a mock accreditation exercise on August 1, 2026, and disclosures from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director of ICT Lawrence Bayode that the devices run on Android 10.

Abubakar argues that because Android 10 reached end-of-life status in 2023, the system lacks critical security patches. He warns this vulnerability exposes the electoral process to unauthorized access, data manipulation, and "Man-in-the-Middle" attacks that could allow hackers to alter voter logs or intercept results transmitted to the INEC Result Viewing portal. He characterized the commission's failure to upgrade the software despite its budget as "suspicious" and a potential deliberate attempt to subvert election integrity.

While INEC officials confirmed the use of Android 10, reports from the Kimpact Development Initiative suggest some devices may be running on even older versions, specifically Android 6 or 7. Abubakar is calling for a comprehensive, independent audit of both the hardware and software code to safeguard the democratic process.