2027: Real-Time Electronic Transmission Will Eliminate Legal Ambiguities -Agbakoba

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has said real-time electronic transmission of election results would eliminate legal ambiguities and restore public confidence ahead of the 2027 elections.

Agbakoba criticised Nigeria’s history of electoral disputes, attributing them to the absence of clear legal support for innovations such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) IReV portal.

The senior lawyer stated this in Lagos while addressing Journalists on the topic “Ending the Cycle – Why Electronic Transmission Should Be Enshrined in the Electoral Act Before 2027”.

He further noted that, although Nigeria’s electoral system seems stuck in a “vicious cycle” of legal uncertainty and constant amendments, there is an urgent need for the National Assembly to quickly amend the Electoral Act to include real-time transmission of results.

Agbakoba argued that, despite INEC’s use of the IReV portal for electronic results transmission, the Supreme Court had ruled that this innovation lacked a legal foundation, as there was no clear statutory provision; electronic transmission remains optional and legally inconsequential.

The constitutional lawyer also cautioned that, without reforms, petitioners will face an “insurmountable evidentiary burden,” citing the 2005 ruling by late Justice Pat Acholonu in Buhari v. Obasanjo, in which demonstrating irregularities across 176,000 polling units was considered “virtually impossible.”

He stated that no presidential election petition has been successful since 1999, calling it a “vicious cycle” of legal battles and diminishing credibility.

While commending Nigeria’s historic June 12, 1993, election, conducted with the manual Option A4 system, as the country’s “gold standard,” Agbakoba suggested that adopting modern technology could further enhance transparency and efficiency.

He stated, “If manual transparency achieved such credibility in 1993, imagine what real-time electronic transmission could accomplish in the digital era of 2026. It offers immediate verification and tamper- proof digital records.

“The National Assembly must decisively embed mandatory real- time electronic results transmission in the Electoral Act, eliminating ambiguity and closing legal loopholes that allow undermining of the people’s will.

“Since the recommendation for an Electoral Offences Commission was made years ago, nothing has happened. The beneficiaries of the current system do not want change,” Agbakoba stated.

The lawyer further suggested shifting the burden of proof in election petitions, proposing that once substantial allegations are raised, INEC should be required to demonstrate compliance with electoral laws and procedures.

Until such reforms are implemented, he cautioned, Nigeria’s elections would remain vulnerable to what he described as “magomago” — manipulation and avoidable controversy.