Ahead of the 2027 general elections, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns regarding the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System’s (BVAS) alleged reliance on an outdated operating system, warning that it poses potential operational and cybersecurity risks.
Atiku’s aide, Paul Ibe disclosed the statement on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), voiced these apprehensions following remarks by Dr. Lawrence Bayode, Director of ICT at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as well as reported technical glitches during the Osun State mock accreditation exercise on August 1, 2026.
According to reports, Bayode revealed on Arise TV on Monday that the BVAS technology, which was integrated into Nigeria’s electoral framework in 2021, currently runs on Android 10.
Responding in a statement issued by his Abuja Media Office on Tuesday, Atiku pointed out that Android 10 reached end-of-life status in 2023 and no longer receives routine technical support, operational updates, or security patches.
He warned that relying on an obsolete operating system for critical election infrastructure like BVAS leaves the voting process vulnerable to system failures and cyber threats.
Pointing to the electoral umpire’s substantial budget, Atiku questioned why INEC has failed to upgrade the BVAS software ahead of the 2027 general elections or leverage upcoming off-cycle polls—such as the Osun governorship election—to test an updated operating system.
He claims that fraudsters may be able to obtain unauthorised access to devices and alter stored voter accreditation or polling unit outcome data before to transmission by taking advantage of weaknesses in obsolete operating systems.
Concerns regarding the transfer of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal via public telecoms networks were also voiced by him.
Biometric functions of BVAS
According to Atiku, out-of-date security and cryptographic elements may make people more vulnerable to cyberattacks, including as attempts to intercept, obstruct, or alter data sent between polling places and the platform for viewing results.
He further argued that an outdated biometric framework could affect the system’s accuracy and resilience against attempts to circumvent its verification processes.
He contended that the accuracy and resilience of the system against attempts to evade its verification procedures could be impacted by an antiquated biometric framework.
Additionally, Atiku cautioned that legacy system software flaws can cause application crashes, especially during times of high usage, which could delay voter accreditation.
He claims that using an end-of-life operating system for vital national infrastructure could increase the attack surface and put the electoral system at unnecessary danger.
On August 11, 2026, the Atiku Media Office in Abuja signed the statement.
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