The 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national elections suffered a major setback on Saturday after a coordinated cyberattack disrupted the association’s electronic voting platform, forcing the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) to postpone the commencement of voting.
The committee said voting, which was scheduled to begin at 12:00 a.m., had to be shifted to 7:35 a.m. following emergency efforts to restore the integrity of the e-voting system.
In a statement issued early Saturday, the ECNBA disclosed that the platform came under what it described as a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” by external actors seeking to undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
According to the committee, its cybersecurity experts, working alongside the Election Voting Service Provider (EVSP), immediately activated emergency security measures to contain the attack, neutralise the threat and restore the voting platform.
The committee assured members that no votes were cast or recorded while the platform remained offline.
“The system is expected to be fully restored, and voting will commence immediately upon restoration,” the ECNBA stated.
It advised eligible voters to await official communication before attempting to log into the voting portal, warning that the only approved platform for the election remains www.ecnbaovs.org.ng�.
The committee cautioned lawyers against using any other links or websites claiming to provide alternative voting channels, describing them as possible instruments of the cyberattack.
The ECNBA also confirmed that all candidates, their agents and election observers were present at the designated monitoring centre and that the electoral process remained under its supervision.
While apologising for the delay, the committee reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a free, fair, transparent and credible election despite the attempted disruption.
The statement was jointly signed by the Chairman of the ECNBA, Aham Ejelam (SAN), and the committee’s Secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa.
