NBA Election Begins After Cyberattack Delays Voting

 

Voting in the 2026 national election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has commenced following a delay caused by what the Electoral Committee of the NBA described as a coordinated cyberattack on its electronic voting platform.

The election was initially scheduled to begin at midnight on Saturday but could not commence as planned after the platform reportedly came under sustained attack from external actors.

The Electoral Committee of the NBA explained the development in a statement addressed to candidates, eligible voters, agents and observers.

The committee apologised to members of the association and other stakeholders for the disruption, saying the attack was intended to sabotage the electoral process.

The statement was signed by the Chairman of the ECNBA 2026, Aham Ejelam, SAN, and the committee’s Secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa.

“The Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association sincerely apologises to all candidates, eligible voters, agents, consultants and observers for the delay in the commencement of voting for the 2026 NBA National Elections at the scheduled time of 12:00 am WAT,” the statement read.

It added that the electronic voting platform had been subjected to a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” allegedly carried out by external actors.

According to the committee, the attack was designed to disrupt and undermine the credibility of the election.

“The attack represents a direct and calculated assault on the ECNBA’s technical infrastructure,” it said.

The electoral committee said its information technology and cybersecurity team immediately began working with the Election Voting Service Provider to address the problem.

It said all available security protocols and countermeasures were activated to repel the attack, neutralise the threat and restore the platform.

“The ECNBA’s IT cybersecurity team, in conjunction with the Election Voting Service Provider, has activated all available security protocols and countermeasures and is engaged in active efforts to repel the attack, neutralise the threat, and restore the integrity and availability of the platform,” the committee stated.

It assured members that voting would commence immediately after the security of the platform had been restored.

While efforts to restore the platform were ongoing, the ECNBA warned eligible voters not to use unofficial links or platforms claiming to provide alternative voting channels.

The committee said such links could be part of the malicious campaign targeting the election.

It identified www.ecnbaovs.org.ng as the only authorised voting portal for the election.

“Members are strongly warned to disregard any other link, platform or communication purporting to offer an alternative voting channel, as such may be instruments of the same malicious campaign currently targeting the election,” the statement said.

The committee initially informed members that voting had not commenced and that no votes were being accepted while the platform was being secured.

It advised voters to await further official communication before attempting to access the portal.

The ECNBA said all candidates, agents and observers were present at the designated monitoring centre during the disruption.

It added that the election remained under the full supervision of the committee despite the technical setback.

“All candidates, agents and observers are present and accounted for at the designated monitoring centre. The electoral process continues under full committee supervision,” it stated.

The committee promised to issue further updates through its official communication channels.

It also reaffirmed its commitment to conducting a free, fair, transparent and credible election despite what it described as criminal interference.