Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has been elected the 33rd president of the Nigerian Bar Association after winning an electronic vote marked by technical glitches, complaints over voter access and protests from some senior lawyers.
According to results announced by Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association Chairman Aham Ejelam, SAN, Badejo-Okusanya received 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the 26,106 votes recorded in the presidential contest.
Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, finished second with 7,934 votes, or 30.39 per cent, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, received 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
The result makes Badejo-Okusanya the second woman to lead the NBA after Priscilla Kuye, who served between 1991 and 1992.
She is also reported to be the first woman directly elected by NBA members to head the association.
Her two-year tenure is expected to run from 2026 to 2028. She will succeed outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN.
Victory After Disrupted Electronic Vote
The election was conducted electronically from July 18 into July 19.
The process was, however, disrupted by technical problems which reportedly prevented some lawyers from accessing the voting platform.
Punch reported that the electronic system suffered glitches and what NBA officials described as a cyberattack, forcing the electoral committee to rebuild and migrate parts of its information-technology infrastructure to a more secure server.
Osigwe said attempts were made to derail the exercise but maintained that the association completed the election.
The reported cyberattack and platform problems have not been shown to have altered the vote totals or changed the final result.
No evidence reviewed by IDNN establishes that the election was rigged, that the declared result was invalid or that the technical failures benefited a particular candidate.
DATA PANEL
Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya: 12,317 votes — 47.18%
Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe: 7,934 votes — 30.39%
Olumuyiwa Akinboro: 5,855 votes — 22.43%
Total presidential votes recorded: 26,106
Senior Lawyers Question Process
The result has nevertheless opened an early credibility test for the incoming leadership.
Senior lawyer Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, alleged that procedures previously agreed for the election were abandoned to favour a preferred candidate.
His claim remains an allegation and has not been established through an independent technical audit or formal electoral finding.
Other lawyers reportedly complained about difficulties accessing the voting platform and the possibility that eligible members were unable to cast their ballots.
It remains unclear how many voters were affected, whether the failed voting attempts were formally recorded or whether any candidate has filed an official petition against the declared result.
Those unanswered questions do not overturn the result, but they place pressure on the ECNBA to explain what went wrong and whether the disruption affected participation.
President-Elect Faces Unity Test
Badejo-Okusanya was absent when the results were announced, with a member of her campaign organisation attributing the absence to a flight delay.
Speaking on her behalf, campaign representative Aminu Gadanya, SAN, said the president-elect was committed to extending a “handshake of friendship” to aggrieved candidates in the interest of unity.
In her own post-election message, Badejo-Okusanya promised to be “a President for every member” and said the association must move forward as one united body.
That reconciliation message may become central to the opening phase of her administration.
Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, also urged the president-elect to make the reunification of the association a priority, arguing that healing internal divisions was essential to building a cohesive and effective Bar.
The NBA occupies an influential place in Nigeria’s justice and democratic systems.
It regularly intervenes in questions involving the rule of law, human rights, judicial independence and government accountability.
That public role means questions surrounding the association’s own election process cannot be dismissed as an internal professional disagreement.
ECNBA Has Questions to Answer
The election result has been declared, but several process questions remain unresolved.
The ECNBA may now face demands to explain:
- what caused the voting-platform failures;
- how many lawyers were unable to vote;
- the nature and extent of the reported cyberattack;
- whether election or voter data was compromised;
- whether a full technical audit will be published;
- whether formal complaints or petitions were received;
- what safeguards will be introduced before the next national election.
Badejo-Okusanya enters office with a historic mandate and a clear plurality of the votes cast.
Her first major test will be whether she can unite the Bar while supporting a transparent examination of the process that produced her victory.
