Fresh concerns have trailed the commencement of voting in the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association National Elections, as several lawyers complained of not receiving One-Time Passwords required to access the voting platform.
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The complaints came after the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association announced that voting would commence at 7:35 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2026, following an earlier delay which the Committee attributed to a coordinated cyberattack on the e-voting platform.
The ECNBA had earlier apologised to candidates, eligible voters, agents and observers, saying the voting portal had been subjected to a deliberate and sustained cyberattack by external actors, allegedly aimed at disrupting and undermining the integrity of the election.
Following the incident, the Committee later announced that the voting portal had been migrated to a new secured domain as part of heightened security measures. It directed lawyers to vote through the new official portal: https://ecnba.org.ng/vote/ecnba-ovs-main/.
However, shortly after voting was announced to have commenced, some lawyers took to different platforms to complain that they had not received their OTPs.
One lawyer wrote: “Still not received OTP.”
Another said: “I am still waiting for the OTP.”
A lawyer also complained: “Waiting for OTP for hours.”
Some lawyers expressed frustration that while some members had reportedly started voting, others were still unable to access the platform because they had not received authentication codes.
One member described the situation as unfair, saying voting had started for some lawyers while others were still locked out of the process.
Another lawyer, reacting to the earlier cyberattack claim, jokingly asked: “Hope the cyberattackers have not intercepted your OTP?”
Others drew a comparison between the NBA election complaints and the criticisms often directed at the Independent National Electoral Commission during national elections.
One lawyer remarked: “And we go dey cry dey abuse INEC.”
The complaints have raised fresh questions about the efficiency of the voting infrastructure, the OTP delivery system and the adequacy of voter support arrangements put in place by the ECNBA.
Meanwhile, TheNigeriaLawyer observed that much of the ECNBA’s communication to lawyers on the commencement of voting and the new voting link was done through email.
This has raised concern among some members who consider email-only communication inadequate for an election involving over 80,000 eligible voters across the country, especially where some members may not have received the email or may not have immediate access to it.
TheNigeriaLawyer also observed that the ECNBA’s latest notice containing the new voting link was circulated by email, meaning that lawyers who did not receive the message could be unaware of the updated portal.
Some members also faulted the absence of publicly listed emergency contact numbers or branch-level support channels through which lawyers experiencing OTP failure or access problems could immediately seek help.
As of the time of this report, there was no independent confirmation that lawyers’ data, OTPs or voting credentials had been compromised.
However, the earlier announcement of a cyberattack, followed by the migration of the voting portal and complaints of missing OTPs, has further heightened scrutiny of the ECNBA and the Election Voting Service Provider.
The ECNBA has maintained that the election process remains under its supervision and that the voting window will last for 24 hours from the time of commencement.
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