Lawyers Decry NBA SPIDEL Poll Annulment

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is embroiled in a fresh crisis following the abrupt annulment of its Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) election, with some lawyers likening the move to the infamous cancellation of the June 12, 1993, presidential poll.

A statement issued by an influential Yoruba lawyers’ forum, Egbe Amofin Oodua, condemned the NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN)’s unilateral decision to scrap the SPIDEL poll at an advanced stage and impose a two-year caretaker committee.

The group claimed that candidates, including Dr Anne Agi, had emerged unopposed before the process was halted during the SPIDEL Annual General Conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Egbe Amofin warned that the “dangerous signal” erodes internal democracy within the NBA, an institution renowned for championing the rule of law and due process.”

The forum alleged creeping partisanship ahead of the 2026 NBA national elections, questioning the neutrality of the NBA’s Electoral Committee composition.

It dismissed the NBA’s rejoinder to Dr Agi’s allegations as evasive, failing to address core claims or justify the annulment with formal complaints.

Solidarity was extended to Dr Agi, Bridget Udokwe and Barbara Tosan Onwubiko for their boldness in exposing the irregularities.

Egbe Amofin demanded the immediate dissolution of the 2026 Electoral Committee and urged past NBA presidents and trustees to step in.

“Any manipulation of the 2026 polls will be fiercely resisted; this is a defining moment for the NBA,” the statement declared, vowing to protect electoral integrity.