Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has become the 33rd president-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), breaking a 35-year gender barrier as the second female president and the first directly elected by the general membership.
Securing 47.18% of the vote despite technical challenges, she pledged to lead with integrity and foster unity under her platform, “A Bolder Bar That Works for Everyone,” prior to taking office from Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN.
But the poll was immediately thrown into controversy, with two defeated presidential candidates – Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN) and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) – rejecting the credibility of the process over alleged widespread technical failures and irregularities.
Outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) appealed for calm and moderation, urging lawyers to put the election behind them and work towards preserving the unity of the association.
The Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) declared Badejo-Okunsanya winner after she polled 12,317 votes to defeat Akangbe, who scored 7,934 votes, and Akinboro, who polled 5,855.
A total of 26,184 votes were cast in the electronic election, representing 36 per cent turnout from 82,172 registered voters.
Badejo-Okunsanya will be the first elected female president of the NBA.
The only other female President, Priscilia Kuye, who was elected Vice President, completed the term of the late Clement Akpambo (SAN) after he was appointed Attorney-General of the Federation by the Gen. Sani Abacha military government.
In her acceptance speech, Badejo-Okunsanya described the outcome as a mandate to build “a bolder Bar that works for everyone.”
“I stand before you with a heart filled with profound gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility. I am truly humbled by the confidence that members of the Nigerian Bar Association have reposed in me by electing me to serve as your President,” she said. Africans& Diaspora
She pledged inclusive leadership focused on improving lawyers’ welfare, professional development and strengthening the association.
“I will be a President for every member of the Nigerian Bar Association. Together, we will build an Association where every lawyer has the opportunity to earn better, live better and practise better,” she said.
The president-elect said consultations with lawyers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory during her campaign had exposed her to the concerns and aspirations of members, which would shape her administration.
Calling for reconciliation after the keen contest, she urged members to put the election behind them.
“The election is over. We are one Bar, united by a common commitment to the advancement of our profession and the defence of justice and the rule of law,” she said.
She congratulated the other contestants for enriching the democratic process and thanked members of her BBOLD Campaign Council, volunteers, supporters, family, mentors and friends for their support.
The election, however, was overshadowed by technical glitches that delayed voting and generated widespread complaints from lawyers.
The ECNBA had announced that its e-voting platform had suffered a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack,” forcing the commencement of voting to be shifted from midnight to 7:35 a.m.
Throughout the exercise, many lawyers reported delayed one-time passwords (OTPs), authentication failures and difficulties accessing the voting portal.
Despite the ECNBA’s assurance that it took steps to secure the platform and complete the exercise, Akangbe rejected the outcome, describing the election as “shambolic” and “a shame to the Bar.”
He alleged that thousands of lawyers were disenfranchised because of the failure of the electronic voting platform and an untested authentication system.
According to him, many lawyers stayed awake for two nights trying unsuccessfully to vote.
“Some of you succeeded in voting. The vast majority of you did not. Some of you tried for hours and were locked out by a platform that was never built to carry the weight of your democratic will,” he said.
Akangbe questioned the ECNBA’s decision to move the election from July 20 to July 18 despite what he said was an agreement reached at a July 15 meeting to postpone the poll by one week to allow lawyers to familiarise themselves with the newly introduced SMS verification system.
He argued that changing the authentication process barely two days before the election exposed about 82,000 lawyers to a system that had not been adequately tested.
Although the ECNBA blamed the disruption on a cyberattack, Akangbe said the explanation failed to answer the critical question of why the platform was vulnerable.
“The platform collapsed within its first hour. Whether that claim is true or not, it does not answer the question that matters: why did the attack succeed?” he said.
The senior advocate disclosed that he was unable to cast his own vote despite receiving multiple links from the ECNBA Chairman and the NBA President.
“I, a presidential candidate in this election, was completely disenfranchised. I could not vote,” he said.
He also questioned the reported voter turnout, arguing that participation had dropped significantly compared to previous NBA elections and attributing the decline to technical failures rather than voter apathy.
Akangbe said he was consulting with his team and would announce his next line of action after reviewing complaints, screenshots and failed authentication records submitted by affected lawyers.
Akinboro also rejected the election, describing it as a “charade” allegedly marred by irregularities, incompetence and lack of preparedness by the ECNBA and its service providers.
He alleged that the process was compromised from the outset by the “unconstitutional appointment” of members of the electoral committee, alleged partisanship by the NBA leadership and the deployment of the association’s structures in favour of a preferred candidate.
Akinboro also questioned why the election failed to commence at midnight as scheduled and challenged the ECNBA’s reliance on the cyberattack explanation.
He alleged that his name appeared incorrectly on the ballot, that only Badejo-Okunsanya’s photograph initially appeared on the presidential ballot interface and that many voters received OTPs through email instead of telephone numbers as stipulated in the guidelines.
He also said he was unable to vote because he never received an OTP.
“It therefore begs the question whether all the above anomalies were also a part of the cyberattack rather than a clear demonstration of incompetence and unpreparedness by both the Service Providers and the ECNBA,” he said.
Despite rejecting the process, Akinboro thanked his supporters and said his campaign had exposed flaws requiring urgent electoral reforms within the NBA.
Osigwe urged lawyers to avoid inflammatory conduct capable of deepening divisions within the association.
“As we celebrate, know that this is a trying time for the Bar. Many persons may yet go to great lengths to rubbish the association and the electoral process,” he said.
He urged supporters of victorious candidates to celebrate with restraint and avoid provoking those dissatisfied with the outcome.
“It is a time for healing. It is a time to reach out to those who lost, to those who are hurting. At the end of the day, let the Bar be the winner. Moderate your celebration. Do not gloat,” he said.
Osigwe expressed confidence that the ECNBA would conduct a comprehensive review of the election and recommend reforms to strengthen future polls.
He said the cyberattack
