Technology expert and former Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Mr. Basil Udotai has raised four questions he says the ECNBA must answer regarding the NBA Elections.

In a post on his verified LINKEDIn platform, Udotai said that “these are not allegations that the election was compromised,” adding that “once an election authority publicly announces an attack of this nature, members are entitled to understand the basis upon which it concluded that the election could safely proceed.”

Comparing the attack to an election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Udotai wrote: “The ECNBA says its election platform suffered a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” and nonetheless proceeded with the election.”

Below is the full text of the posers by the technology expert.

The ECNBA says its election platform suffered a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack”

…and nonetheless proceeded with the election.

According to the ECNBA, the attack was:

“…a deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack by external actors, clearly intended to disrupt, sabotage, and undermine the integrity of the 2026 NBA National Electoral Process.”

If so, there are a few questions I’d like to ask in the interest of cybersecurity, and for the benefit of young lawyers coming into this noble profession.

1. Who investigated the systems and concluded that the integrity of the election remained intact?
2. Was a forensic assessment conducted before voting resumed?
3. Who made the decision that the platform was sufficiently secure to proceed – and on what basis?
4. Were the relevant cyber incident reporting and investigative processes prescribed under the Nigerian Cybercrime Act, activated where applicable?

To be clear, these are not allegations that the election was compromised. Modern election systems are targeted all the time and are expected to withstand cyberattacks.

But once an election authority publicly announces an attack of this nature, members are entitled to understand the basis upon which it concluded that the election could safely proceed.

Now imagine this happened during the 2027 General Elections: suppose INEC announced that its electoral systems and infrastructure had been subjected to a deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack by external actors, clearly intended to disrupt, sabotage, and undermine the integrity of the electoral process…and nonetheless resumed voting.

Would Nigerians not ask these same questions?

Would the NBA itself not insist on transparency, forensic accountability and clear assurances that the integrity of the election had not been compromised?

If those are the standards we would rightly demand of INEC, should they not also be the standards we demand of ourselves?

It is my hope that the ECNBA will address these questions in its election report, thereby reinforcing confidence in the integrity and legitimacy of this election.

In the meantime, congratulations to all those elected to serve our Bar – the Biggest in Africa! And to those who were not successful this time, well done on your campaigns. We live to run another day.

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