INEC's Digital Platforms Targeted by Cyberattacks in 2023

Festus Okoye, a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), disclosed in an interview on the podcast Deep Insights, hosted by Austin Agbonsuremi, that INEC's digital platforms were subjected to cyberattacks during the 2023 presidential election. Despite assurances to Nigerians that results would be uploaded to the Result Viewing Portal (IReV), the platform was inactive for an extended period post-voting, raising concerns.

Okoye explained that INEC officials faced difficulties in uploading results, initially believing the issues would be resolved quickly. He stated, “What really happened was that the technology malfunctioned,” expressing disappointment over the extensive preparations that preceded the election.

Okoye mentioned that a press statement was drafted to explain the situation, but he objected to the technical language used, which led to the term "glitch" being introduced. He confirmed that INEC's platforms experienced various cyberattacks but could not ascertain their impact on the IReV issues.

The deputy director in charge of ICT later addressed the election petition tribunal regarding the incident.