The presidential election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has been disrupted by what the Electoral Committee described as a deliberate and sustained cyberattack on its e-voting platform.
The ECNBA had announced voting would commence at 12:00am WAT on Saturday, June 18, but many lawyers reported being unable to gain access to the platform to cast their votes.
In a notice sent to stakeholders, the ECNBA apologised to candidates, eligible voters, agents, consultants and observers for the disruption.
The electoral umpire decried the attack, which it said was intended to sabotage, disrupt and undermine the integrity of the NBA electoral process.
The committee explained that its cybersecurity team and the Election Voting Service Provider (EVSP) have activated emergency security protocols and are working to neutralise the threat and restore full functionality of the platform.
“The system is expected to be fully restored and voting will commence immediately upon restoration,” the statement reads in part.
The ECNBA emphasised that voting had not commenced and no votes were being accepted at the time of the notice, assuring members that the portal would be reopened once the platform is secured.
It urged lawyers across the country to await further official communication before attempting to access the voting portal.
The ECNBA advised members against the use of any platform other than its designated voting portal, www.ecnbaovs.org.ng, noting that alternative links or communications may be part of the malicious campaign targeting the election.
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