INEC’s Documents Suggest BVAS May Be Running On Android 6 Or 7 As Android 17 Rolls Out – Researcher

 

Adebayo warned that if the claim proves correct, it raises critical questions about the security, intelligence, processing capability and reliability of the technology expected to play a central role in Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

The Head of Research and Strategy at Kimpact Development Initiative, Oluwafemi Adebayo, has raised fresh concerns over the technological integrity of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), alleging that evidence from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) own documents suggests the election device may still be operating on Android 6 or Android 7.

Android 6 and Android 7 operating systems were released in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Adebayo warned that if the claim proves correct, it raises critical questions about the security, intelligence, processing capability and reliability of the technology expected to play a central role in Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

He spoke during an interview on ARISE Television’s Morning Show, where he reviewed INEC’s preparedness following the August 1 mock accreditation exercise conducted ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election.

According to him, while INEC has consistently maintained that it is ready for elections through activities such as PVC distribution and mock accreditation exercises, the real measure of the commission’s preparedness would only become evident on election day.

“Administratively, or let me just say on paper, it’s obvious that INEC will always mention the fact that they are prepared. But the true test to actually say INEC is really prepared for elections will be what shows up on election day,” Adebayo said.

He noted that although INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, explained that technical issues recorded during the mock accreditation exercise were resolved within one hour and attributed them to compatibility problems affecting old Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the explanation left several unanswered questions.

According to Adebayo, Kimpact began examining INEC’s own manuals and official documents after reports emerged that numerous voters experienced accreditation challenges during the mock exercise.

He questioned why old PVCs would significantly affect accreditation when INEC had repeatedly maintained that BVAS primarily authenticates voters through biometric verification rather than the physical voter card.

“But again, it caused a question about whether PVC actually has a role in the accreditation process,” he said. “We started asking questions because even from the days of Professor Mahmood Yakubu there have been conversations around the fact that BVAS doesn’t have a role in accreditation. It’s just for identification.”

However, after reviewing INEC’s manuals for election officials, Adebayo said Kimpact discovered provisions indicating that election officers could identify voters through three different methods.

“One of the things we now saw is that there are three major ways by which you can actually identify a voter.

“One is through the surname of the voter, another is the last six digits of the Voter Identification Number (VIN), and the third is that BVAS can also scan the QR code at the back of the PVC,” he explained.

He argued that this raises further questions about why old PVCs would prevent accreditation if election officials still had access to voters’ surnames and VIN numbers.

“So while old PVCs may be a problem, I don’t think that explanation is sufficient enough for what happened during the mock accreditation exercise,” he said.

Beyond the accreditation process itself, Adebayo said Kimpact’s investigation shifted to the technological foundation powering the BVAS devices.

According to him, publicly available information about the device’s software remains limited, making it difficult to determine precisely which Android operating system BVAS currently uses.

He disclosed that Kimpact made inquiries from individuals familiar with the technology and examined screenshots contained in INEC’s own official publications.

While some sources suggested BVAS could be running on Android versions as old as Android 2 or Android 3, Adebayo said he found those claims difficult to believe.

“Some people told us BVAS is operating between Android version two and three. I don’t want to believe that because the world is currently running Android 16 and Android 17,” he said.

Instead, he said Kimpact’s analysis of the interface, icons, widgets and visual design contained in INEC’s manuals suggests the devices are more likely operating on Android 6 or Android 7, operating systems introduced in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

He said, “Looking at the official screenshots of BVAS in INEC’s documents, if you examine the customisation, the icons, the layout and the widgets, it is leaning towards BVAS operating on Android 6 or Android 7.

“If that is the case, then we are talking about an operating system that is almost 10 years old.”

He warned that Android versions of that age generally no longer receive regular security patches from Google, raising concerns about cybersecurity, efficiency and long-term software support.

“I don’t know of any Android version where security patches continue beyond five or seven years,” Adebayo stated. “So it raises serious questions about the operating system BVAS is running and whether that affects how accurately and intelligently the device processes accreditation.”

According to him, the issue goes beyond software alone and extends to the hardware architecture of the BVAS devices.

He explained that while publicly available information confirms that BVAS contains fingerprint sensors, little is known about the more sophisticated biometric processors that modern identity verification devices rely upon for speed and accuracy.

“Fingerprint sensors alone can do the job,” he acknowledged. “But there are also biometric processors that improve reliability, intelligence and processing speed. We’re not sure whether BVAS has those components.”

Adebayo stressed that the combination of an ageing operating system and uncertainty over the hardware specifications warrants greater public transparency from the electoral commission.

“The question is the relationship between a lower operating system that no longer receives security patches and the smartness of the hardware processing,” he said.

“As we move towards the 2027 general elections, these are legitimate questions Nigerians deserve answers to.”

The Kimpact official called on INEC to provide greater technical transparency regarding the specifications of the BVAS platform, arguing that public confidence in electoral technology depends not only on assurances from the commission but also on independent scrutiny.

His remarks come as political parties, civil society organisations and election observers continue to evaluate lessons from previous elections and preparations for the 2027 polls, where BVAS is again expected to serve as the primary technology for voter accreditation nationwide.

INEC has consistently maintained that BVAS remains secure, reliable and central to improving the credibility of elections by preventing multiple voting and identity fraud.

SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTERS