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 pose cybersecurity and operational risks ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Paul Ibe disclosed this on his Facebook handle on Tuesday.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), raised the concerns following the reported failures recorded during the Osun State mock accreditation exercise on August 1, 2026, and comments by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director of ICT, Dr Lawrence Bayode.Bayode, while speaking on Arise TV on Monday, reportedly said the 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 version 10 had reached end-of-life status in 2023 and no longer receives regular updates or security patches.

He argued that running an election technology platform such as BVAS on an outdated operating system could expose the electoral process to cybersecurity and operational vulnerabilities.

Atiku questioned why INEC, with what he described as its substantial budget, had not upgraded the BVAS software ahead of the 2027 general elections or used forthcoming off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship election, to test an updated version.

He described what he called INEC’s handling of the BVAS issue as “suspicious” and alleged that it could undermine the integrity of the country’s elections.

According to him, vulnerabilities in an outdated operating system could potentially be exploited by cybercriminals to gain unauthorised access to devices and tamper with stored voter accreditation or polling unit result data before transmission.

He also raised concerns about the transmission of polling unit results over public telecommunications networks to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

Atiku said outdated security and cryptographic components could increase exposure to cyber threats, including attempts to intercept, block or manipulate data transmitted between polling units and the result-viewing platform.

The former Vice President further expressed concern about the biometric functions of BVAS, which uses fingerprint and facial recognition for voter accreditation.

He argued that an outdated biometric framework could affect the system’s accuracy and resilience against attempts to circumvent its verification processes.

Atiku also warned that software defects associated with legacy systems could lead to application crashes, particularly during periods of heavy usage, potentially causing delays in voter accreditation.

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

According to him, running critical national infrastructure on an end-of-life operating system could create an expanded attack surface and expose the electoral system to avoidable risks.

The statement was signed by the Atiku Media Office, Abuja, on August 11, 2026.

• Four AK-47 rifles, ammunition recovered

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has commended intelligence and security agencies in the state for nabbing three members of a notorious kidnap gang responsible for the August 2, 2026 attack on St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Inoyi-Affa, in Udi LGA of the state.

A joint operation by the Department of State Services (DSS), the Army, Police, Enugu State Forest Guard, and others, led to a gun battle with the suspected kidnappers.

One suspected member of the kidnapping gang was neutralized, while the security team recovered four AK-47 rifles and a cache of ammunition.

The governor made the commendation on Monday night after visiting the state DSS headquarters to see the arrested suspected kidnappers.

The governor, who was represented by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, disclosed that two of the three kidnapped victims of the August 2 attack, Seminarian Lawrence Igbo and Mr. Emmanuel Onwudi, had regained their freedom.

The victims, stated the SSG, had fully identified the apprehended men as their abductors.
On behalf of the governor, the SSG assured the people of Enugu State that the Mbah administration would continue to prioritise and invest in the security of their lives and properties.

“There was one fatality in this process. It was one of the criminals that died in the process of apprehending them. Usually, criminal elements will not want to be apprehended easily without a fight, but our people were ready, and we have one fatality, while the others are here now as you can see; and they will face the full wrath of the law,” he declared.

“We made it very clear that if criminality becomes your venture, Enugu State is not the location to do that business; that we will pursue you, we will make sure we bring you to justice, and that was why we put the robust security architecture across the state, working in collaboration with the security forces to ensure that Enugu is uncomfortable for anybody that plans criminality, and you’re seeing that very clearly.

“We are intentional in investing in and organising our security architecture to prevent crime. But if there is a breach, you can run, but cannot hide for long. We must get you. You can’t commit these crimes in Enugu State and get away with it. No way,” he said.

He warned citizens against colluding with criminal elements or serve as their informants, vowing to come after them.

“We will find you also, just as we have found these people, and we will prosecute you as part of this evil operation and this evil syndicate.

“Wherever you are, know that investigation is ongoing and that this government will track you down, and you will pay for your crimes in planning havoc on our citizens. So wherever you are, we are still coming for you,” he stressed.

He showered encomium on the security forces for their cooperation and gallantry.

“We also want to very highly commend all the security agencies: the DSS, Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police, the Enugu State Forest Guard, the military services, others for being very instrumental in some of the work that was done, and continue to do in Enugu State,” the SSG declared.