The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has postponed the commencement of its 2026 national presidential election after a cyberattack disrupted its electronic voting platform.
Voting was scheduled to begin at 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 18, 2026, but the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) announced that the exercise could not commence as planned due to what it described as a coordinated cyberattack targeting the voting system.
In a statement issued early Saturday, the ECNBA apologized to candidates, eligible voters, election agents, consultants, and observers for the unexpected delay.
According to the committee, the electronic voting platform was subjected to a deliberate, coordinated, and sustained cyberattack aimed at disrupting and compromising the integrity of the 2026 NBA elections.
The ECNBA disclosed that its cybersecurity experts, working alongside the Election Voting Service Provider (EVSP), immediately activated emergency security measures to contain the threat and restore the platform.
The committee assured members that voting had not begun and that no ballots had been cast or accepted before the disruption occurred.
It added that the voting portal would only be reopened after security experts certify that the system is fully secure and operational.
Lawyers participating in the election were advised to await further official communication before attempting to access the voting portal.
The electoral body also warned members to use only its designated voting website for election-related activities, cautioning that unofficial links or messages could be part of the cyberattack campaign.
Despite the disruption, the ECNBA confirmed that all candidates, their agents, and election observers remained at the designated monitoring centre, while efforts to safeguard the credibility of the electoral process continued.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to conducting a transparent, credible, and secure election and promised to keep members informed through its official communication channels as work to restore the platform progresses.
The statement announcing the postponement was jointly signed by the Chairman of ECNBA 2026, Aham Ejelam (SAN), and the committee’s Secretary, Ibrahim Nassarawa.
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