The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has successfully concluded its 2026 national officers’ election, bringing an end to a fiercely contested exercise that was marked by internal disputes and an attempted cyberattack on the association’s electronic voting platform.
Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Chief Aham Ejelam, SAN, announced the results on Sunday at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja, declaring Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, as the winner of the presidential election.
According to the electoral committee, Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast, to emerge victorious over her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN.
Akangbe polled 7,934 votes, accounting for 30.39 per cent of the votes, while the third presidential candidate, Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, garnered 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
Ejelam disclosed that a total of 26,106 valid votes were recorded in the presidential election.
With the victory, Badejo-Okusanya becomes the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association and only the second woman to occupy the office since the association was established in 1933, ending a 34-year wait for another female leader of the legal body.
In another key contest, Mr. Afam Okeke emerged as the association’s General Secretary after securing 8,478 votes to defeat his opponents.
The newly elected national officers will serve a two-year tenure covering the 2026–2028 administration.
Although Badejo-Okusanya was not physically present when the results were announced, a member of her campaign team, Mr. Aminu Gadanya, SAN, explained that she was delayed by a flight schedule.
Speaking on her behalf, Gadanya said the President-elect was prepared to work with all members of the Bar and extend a hand of reconciliation to candidates who participated in the election.
He noted that her administration would prioritise unity within the association following the divisive election process.
In his remarks after the declaration of results, the outgoing President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, acknowledged the numerous challenges encountered during the election, particularly the cyberattack that disrupted the commencement of voting.
He praised the electoral committee for remaining resolute despite attempts to undermine the credibility of the process.
“Many went to great lengths to truncate the electoral process. They maligned the process with their utterances, but we held firm. Every effort to derail the process failed,” Osigwe said.
The outgoing NBA President urged the newly elected officers to exercise restraint in celebrating their victory and instead focus on healing divisions within the legal association.
“This is a trying time for the Bar. Many persons may still go to great lengths to rubbish the association. However, this is a time for healing. At the end of the day, let the Bar be the winner,” he added.
Osigwe also disclosed that the Electoral Committee would undertake a comprehensive review of the election to identify the challenges encountered and recommend measures to strengthen future electoral processes.
According to him, particular attention would be paid to the cyberattack that forced the committee to rebuild and migrate the electronic voting infrastructure before voting eventually commenced.
“The cyberattack shows that we must do more, not only for data protection, but to protect our electoral integrity. We must insulate our electoral process from such activities.
“Someday the story will be told of how the ICT system had to be rebuilt and moved to a safer server to ensure that the election was held.
“The Bar must always protect its independence and eternally determine the course of its electoral process,” Osigwe stated.
The 2026 NBA election had earlier suffered delays after the ECNBA announced that its electronic voting platform came under what it described as a coordinated cyberattack, forcing officials to suspend the commencement of voting until the system was secured.
Despite the disruption, the election was eventually completed, with the ECNBA maintaining that the integrity of the voting process remained intact.
