Women show their new electoral cards while queuing at a accreditation center in Abuja. (AFP Photo)
Nigeria's electoral commission admitted today that its website had been hacked, as the country's crucial presidential and parliamentary elections were hit by technical problems.
"The INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) website was hacked this morning but we are trying to revive it," the body's deputy director of public affairs, Nick Dazang, told AFP.
"But nothing has been tampered with," he added, without elaborating. INEC has been under scrutiny for weeks about its preparations for the election, in particular over the use of biometric voter identity cards and new technology to cut down on electoral fraud.
Voters throughout Nigeria have complained about lengthy delays in authenticating their cards. President Goodluck Jonathan's own card failed on the new system and he had to be accredited by hand.
The INEC website -- inecnigeria.org -- was allegedly targeted by the Nigerian Cyber Army. A message on the home page read: "Feel some shame Admin!! Security just an illusion." The site was later back online.