BVAS Doesn’t Need Internet on Election Day – Former INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu

• Former INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu has explained that voter accreditation machines used during elections operate offline and do not require internet connectivity to verify voters, noting that internet is only needed later for result uploads.

Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has clarified how voter accreditation machines function during elections in Nigeria.

Yakubu explained that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used on Election Day does not depend on internet connectivity to verify voters. According to him, the device is designed to operate offline during the accreditation process.

He noted that the machine stores necessary voter data locally, allowing it to identify and accredit voters through fingerprint or facial recognition without needing to connect to a network.

“The machine on Election Day doesn’t rely on internet to accredit voters, it works offline,” Yakubu stated.

He further explained that internet connectivity is only required later, particularly for uploading election results to the INEC server after voting has been completed.

“The machine on Election Day doesn’t rely on internet to accredit voters, it works offline”

– Former INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu pic.twitter.com/LEMCO3TGFl

— Dami’ Adenuga (@DAMIADENUGA) February 12, 2026

In other news… A Nigerian nurse has shared a heartbreaking experience from her workplace, recounting the tragic moment a man lost both his wife and newborn child during childbirth after waiting 14 years to become a father.

The nurse, identified on X (formerly Twitter) as @paucia, said the emotional incident happened while the husband stood outside the labor ward praying passionately for a successful delivery. According to her, the man expressed gratitude to God, believing his long-awaited dream of fatherhood was finally being fulfilled.

Unknown to him, tragedy had already struck inside the ward. The nurse revealed that both the woman and the baby had died during delivery while the husband continued praying outside, unaware of the devastating loss.

She described the moment as one of the most painful experiences of her career, saying it was deeply difficult watching the man pray joyfully while knowing the heartbreaking news he was about to receive.

Reflecting on the incident, she wrote:

“Watching the husband pray outside the labor ward meanwhile the wife and baby are already dead. He said: ‘Lord after 14 years you finally did it, complete it and put them to shame.’ God, I’m so heartbroken right now. Saddest day at work. I kept looking at him praying through the windows knowing he’s about to receive the worst news of his life. The joy in his prayers. Oh God.”