Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the alleged use of an outdated operating system on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), warning that it could create cybersecurity and operational risks ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Paul Ibe disclosed this in a post on his Facebook handle on Tuesday.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, raised the concerns after reported failures during the Osun State mock accreditation exercise on August 1, 2026, and comments by INEC Director of ICT, Dr Lawrence Bayode.
Bayode reportedly said on Arise TV on Monday that BVAS, introduced into Nigeria’s electoral process in 2021, currently runs on Android version 10.
In a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja on Tuesday, Atiku said Android 10 reached end-of-life status in 2023 and no longer receives regular updates or security patches.
He questioned why INEC had not upgraded the BVAS software ahead of the 2027 elections or used coming off-cycle polls, including the Osun governorship election, to test an updated version.
Atiku described INEC’s handling of the issue as “suspicious”, warning that flaws in an outdated system could allow cybercriminals to access devices and tamper with voter accreditation or polling unit result data.
He also raised concerns about result transmission over public networks to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal, saying outdated security and cryptographic components could expose the process to interception or manipulation.
Atiku further warned that an outdated biometric system could affect fingerprint and facial recognition, while software defects could cause crashes and delays during heavy usage.
He backed calls for an independent, comprehensive audit of BVAS hardware and software before the 2027 elections, warning that end-of-life systems could expose the electoral process to avoidable risks.
The statement was signed by the Atiku Media Office, Abuja, on August 11, 2026.
