The 2026 Nigerian Bar Association National Officers’ Election has suffered an early setback after the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association announced that its e-voting platform came under a deliberate and sustained cyberattack.
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The development came less than 24 hours after the Department of State Services reportedly released the NBA’s Election Voting Service Provider, whose earlier detention had generated concern among lawyers and stakeholders ahead of the election.
Voting in the election was scheduled to commence at 12:00 a.m. WAT on Saturday, July 18, 2026, but the ECNBA said the process could not begin as planned because the election platform was targeted by external actors.
In a notice issued to candidates, eligible voters, agents, consultants and observers, the Committee said the attack was coordinated and sustained, and was intended to disrupt, sabotage and undermine the integrity of the NBA electoral process.
According to the ECNBA, its IT cybersecurity team, working with the Election Voting Service Provider, immediately activated all available security protocols and countermeasures to repel the attack, neutralise the threat and restore the platform.
The Committee, however, assured members that the delay was precautionary, stressing that voting had not commenced before the attack and that no votes had been accepted or compromised.
It said voting would commence immediately after the system is fully restored and certified secure.
The ECNBA further warned eligible voters to access only the official voting portal, www.ecnbaovs.org.ng, and to disregard any other website, platform, link or communication claiming to provide access to the election.
It said such unofficial links may form part of the malicious campaign currently targeting the NBA election.
The Committee also disclosed that all candidates, agents, consultants and observers remained present at the designated monitoring centre, adding that the electoral process was still under the full supervision of the ECNBA.
The incident has raised fresh concerns over the conduct of the 2026 NBA National Elections, which had already been surrounded by controversy, including disputes over the election timetable, the voting platform, calls for enhanced voter authentication and concerns about the earlier detention of the service provider.
Despite the disruption, the ECNBA urged lawyers to remain calm, await further official communication and avoid unofficial voting channels.
The Committee reaffirmed its commitment to delivering a free, fair, transparent and credible election, notwithstanding what it described as criminal interference with its technical infrastructure.
However, independent checks by TheNigeriaLawyer showed that the official ECNBA voting portal was accessible as at the time of filing this report.
TheNigeriaLawyer could not, however, independently verify the nature, source or extent of the alleged cyberattack earlier reported by the ECNBA. It also could not confirm whether the platform was at any point compromised, whether any votes were recorded before the alleged disruption, or whether any lawyers’ personal data or voting credentials were exposed.
It also remains unclear whether the ECNBA, its cybersecurity team or the Election Voting Service Provider had anticipated such an attack and what specific safeguards were in place before the commencement of the election.
As of the time of this report, TheNigeriaLawyer was awaiting further official clarification from the ECNBA on the status of the platform, the integrity of the voter database, and the timeline for the commencement or continuation of voting.
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