In the event that the Bimodal Voter Registration System (BVAS) is compromised during the elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that a system exists to deactivate it.
This was discussed by Lawrence Bayode, the deputy director of INEC’s Information and Communications Technology division, on Wednesday’s episode of The 2023 Verdict, a special election program on Channels Television.
In Nigeria, ballot boxes are frequently stolen by criminals or gunmen during elections to disrupt the process.
Bayode claims that the BVAS will be deactivated from the backend to prevent vote manipulation by those who stole it.
He stated,
“We have a system in place that can deactivate that particular BVAS in the event that it is stolen.
“We deactivate it so that whoever steals the device will be unable to use it because the device pushes the accreditation data automatically, even without the operator pressing a button. It transfers the accreditation data to the backend when it is idle.
He stated that the polling unit officer would file a report if criminals took the device to other locations where they believed they could alter its data.
“If such a thing occurs, the PO reports it, and that device is deactivated from the backend so that the person who took it will not be able to use it in any way.” Added Bayode.