2027: Atiku Raises Concern Over ‘Outdated BVAS’

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the reported use of an outdated operating system on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), warning that it could expose Nigeria’s electoral system to cybersecurity and operational risks ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), expressed his concerns in a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja on Tuesday and shared by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe, on Facebook.

His comments followed reported technical difficulties during the mock accreditation exercise conducted in Osun State on 1 August 2026, as well as remarks by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode.

Bayode, while speaking on Arise TV on Monday, reportedly said that the BVAS, introduced into Nigeria’s electoral process in 2021, currently runs on Android 10.

Atiku said Android 10 reached end-of-life status in 2023 and no longer receives regular security updates and patches.

He questioned the decision to continue using an operating system that he described as outdated for critical electoral infrastructure, arguing that it could create cybersecurity and operational vulnerabilities.

The former Vice-President also questioned why INEC had not upgraded the BVAS software ahead of the 2027 elections, despite what he described as the commission’s substantial budget.

He said the forthcoming off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship election, could have provided an opportunity for INEC to test an upgraded version of the system.

Atiku described INEC’s handling of the BVAS issue as “suspicious”, alleging that weaknesses in the system could affect public confidence in the electoral process.

He warned that cybercriminals could exploit vulnerabilities in an outdated operating system to gain unauthorised access to devices or interfere with voter accreditation and polling unit results data before transmission.

Atiku also raised concerns about the transmission of polling unit results through public telecommunications networks to INEC’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

According to him, outdated security and cryptographic components could increase the system’s exposure to cyber threats, including attempts to intercept, disrupt or manipulate data transmitted from polling units to the result-viewing platform.

The ADC presidential candidate further expressed concern about the biometric functions of BVAS, which uses fingerprint and facial recognition technology to verify voters.

He argued that reliance on outdated biometric software could compromise the system’s accuracy and resilience, including its ability to withstand attempts to circumvent its verification mechanisms.

Atiku also warned that software defects in legacy systems could cause application crashes, particularly during periods of heavy usage, potentially delaying voter accreditation at polling units.

He said he supported calls by cybersecurity experts for an independent and comprehensive audit of the BVAS hardware and software ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to Atiku, continuing to operate critical national electoral infrastructure on an end-of-life operating system could increase the system’s attack surface and expose the electoral process to avoidable risks. The Atiku Media Office in Abuja signed the statement on 11 August 2026.