2027 Polls: Atiku Questions Use of Android 10 on BVAS

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has expressed concern over the operating system reportedly being used on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), warning that reliance on outdated software could expose Nigeria’s electoral infrastructure to cybersecurity and operational risks ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Atiku’s concerns were made public on Tuesday by his media aide, Paul Ibe, who shared the position on his Facebook page.

The former vice president, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), raised the issue following reported technical problems during the mock accreditation exercise conducted in Osun State on August 1, 2026.

His concerns also followed comments by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, who reportedly stated during an interview on Arise TV on Monday that BVAS devices currently operate on Android 10.

BVAS was introduced into Nigeria’s electoral process in 2021 as part of efforts to strengthen voter accreditation and improve the credibility of elections.

In a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja on Tuesday, Atiku argued that Android 10 had reached its end-of-life stage in 2023 and was no longer receiving regular security updates and patches.

He questioned why INEC, despite its sizeable budget, had not upgraded the operating system powering the devices ahead of the 2027 elections. He also asked why upcoming off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship election, were not being used to test an updated BVAS platform.

According to Atiku, deploying election technology on an outdated operating system could increase the system’s exposure to cyberattacks and other technical vulnerabilities.

He warned that weaknesses in legacy software could potentially be exploited to gain unauthorised access to devices or interfere with voter accreditation information and polling-unit results before they are transmitted.

The former vice president also raised questions about the transmission of election results from polling units through public telecommunications networks to INEC’s Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

He said outdated security and cryptographic components could increase the potential risks associated with transmitting election data, including attempts to intercept, disrupt or manipulate information while it is being transferred.

Atiku further expressed concern about the biometric components of BVAS, which rely on fingerprint and facial recognition technology to authenticate voters.

He argued that outdated software supporting biometric functions could potentially affect the accuracy and reliability of the accreditation process and create opportunities for attempts to circumvent the system’s verification mechanisms.

He also warned that software defects associated with legacy systems could result in application crashes or reduced performance, particularly when the devices are subjected to heavy usage during elections. Such failures, he said, could cause delays and difficulties in accrediting voters.

Atiku called for an independent and comprehensive assessment of both the hardware and software components of BVAS before the 2027 elections.

He said such an audit should include a thorough examination of the system’s cybersecurity, software architecture, biometric capabilities and data-transmission mechanisms.

According to him, continuing to operate critical electoral infrastructure on an end-of-life operating system could unnecessarily expand Nigeria’s cybersecurity attack surface and create avoidable risks for the electoral process.

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