The Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) on Saturday apologised for the delayed commencement of voting in the 2026 NBA National Elections, blaming the setback on a coordinated cyberattack targeting its electronic voting platform.
In a statement released early Saturday, the committee announced that voting, originally fixed to begin at 12 a.m. WAT, would instead start at 7:35 a.m. after efforts to restore the integrity of the system.
The ECNBA disclosed that its e-voting platform came under “a deliberate, coordinated, and sustained cyberattack by external actors aimed at disrupting and undermining the electoral process.”
According to the committee, its cybersecurity team, alongside the Election Voting Service Provider (EVSP), promptly activated security measures and countermeasures to repel the attack, neutralise the threat and restore full functionality to the platform.
It emphasised that no voting occurred and that no ballots were received while the platform remained offline.
“The system is expected to be fully restored, and voting will commence immediately upon restoration,” the committee said.
The ECNBA advised all eligible voters to wait for further official communication before trying to access the voting portal.
It cautioned members against using any other links or platforms claiming to provide alternative voting channels, warning that they could be part of the malicious attack.
The committee further stated that all candidates, agents and observers were present at the designated monitoring centre and that the election remained under its supervision.
While expressing regret over the delay, the ECNBA reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a free, fair, transparent and credible election despite what it described as criminal interference.
The statement was jointly signed by the Chairman of the ECNBA, Aham Ejelam (SAN), and the Secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa.
Meanwhile, constitutional and human rights lawyer as well as activist, Deji Adeyanju, on Saturday urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to learn practical lessons from the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national election.
He said the exercise demonstrated that secure and credible electronic voting can be successfully implemented in Nigeria.
Adeyanju, who spoke after casting his vote in the NBA election, commended the Nigerian Bar Association’s Electoral Committee (ECNBA) for what he described as a seamless, transparent and efficient electronic voting process.
According to him, the registration, verification and voting process took him less than two minutes to complete.
He stated that the ECNBA effectively deployed a secure voting system that relied on each lawyer’s unique Supreme Court enrolment number and a One-Time Password (OTP) verification process, ensuring the election was both swift and credible.
