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Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has been elected the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), making her the second woman to hold the position.
Badejo-Okusanya defeated two other Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, in a closely watched poll that had been preceded by weeks of controversy over the electoral process.
The election took place under increased scrutiny following concerns about its credibility raised by some candidates.
One of the presidential candidates, Akangbe, in a post shared on X, alleged irregularities in the electronic voting process, claiming that many lawyers were unable to cast their votes.
“Throughout the ongoing NBA elections, I have received reports from lawyers across the country who say they have been unable to cast their votes due to challenges with the voting process. Regrettably, I have also been unable to cast my own vote despite repeated attempts,” he wrote on X.
“We have records showing that the system allows people to vote twice, when it should be one member one vote.”
In the weeks leading up to the poll, critics called for the election to be postponed, demanded mandatory National Identification Number (NIN) verification for voters and accused the NBA leadership of attempting to influence the outcome.
However, the association repeatedly denied the allegations, insisting that the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) is constitutionally independent and solely responsible for conducting the election.
A day before the poll, NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) rejected claims that he was trying to manipulate the election or support a preferred candidate. Osigwe said the Electoral Committee “operated independently” and “took no instructions” from him.
He described allegations that he was backing any of the candidates as “politically motivated and unsupported by evidence.” Osigwe also maintained that longstanding claims that NBA elections were routinely manipulated had never been substantiated in court.
As President-elect, Badejo-Okusanya is expected to lead the association over the next two years, with members looking to her administration to strengthen the rule of law, improve lawyers’ welfare and address reforms within the legal profession.
