2023: Foreign Hackers Attacking Our Database – INEC Chairman 

The INEC chairman who was represented by the deputy director of ICT, Dr. Lawrence Bayode, said the attacks were from different parts of the world and not just Nigeria.

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has said there have been attempts to hack into the commission’s computer system ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Yakubu spoke on Thursday during the 2022 National Conference of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) in Abuja with the theme, ‘2023 General Elections; Judiciary and Sustainability of Nigeria’s Democracy.”

The INEC chairman who was represented by the deputy director of ICT, Dr. Lawrence Bayode, said the attacks were from different parts of the world and not just Nigeria.

“We were looking at the system yesterday and we were seeing that people were trying to come into the system from France but we also are putting some things in place.

You can’t build a house and you will not put a door, window, or burglary; we have done our best to ensure that our system is secured,” Bayode said.

“He said the surfaced vulnerabilities of the Bimodal Voter Registration System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), and the backend were well-secured to make it difficult to beat.

Bayode reiterated that there would be no voting without the permanent voter cards (PVC) and accreditation as provided in Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

In the keynote address, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), who was represented by his media aide, Dr. Umar Gwandu, commended the media for its role in sustaining Nigeria’s democracy while charging voters to resist the urge to sell their votes.