NBA Election Sparks New Controversy As Akinboro, Akangbe Reject Badejo-Okusanya’s Victory

The 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national election has ignited a fresh controversy, as two of the three presidential candidates, Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) and Lateef Akangbe (SAN), challenged the legitimacy of Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya (SAN) as the winner of the highly contested poll.

Badejo-Okusanya was declared the winner of the election by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) after securing 12,317 votes, accounting for 47.18 per cent of the total votes.

Akangbe secured second place with 7,934 votes, equating to 30.39 per cent, while Akinboro garnered 5,855 votes, or 22.43 per cent.

Nonetheless, the announcement of the results has not resolved the controversy surrounding the election, with the two defeated candidates expressing their objections to the conduct and outcome of the voting.

Akinboro, a former NBA General Secretary, dismissed the process as a “charade,” citing irregularities in the electronic voting system, including ballot manipulation and failures in the delivery of one-time passwords (OTPs).

He also alleged ballot errors, failures in the delivery of one-time passwords (OTPs), and irregularities which, according to him, prevented him from effectively participating in the election and undermined its credibility.

The former NBA General Secretary said he was consulting his team on the next course of action.

Akangbe, who finished second, also rejected the outcome and expressed doubts over the credibility and transparency of the voting process.

This development has cast a shadow over Badejo-Okusanya’s historic victory, making her only the second woman to lead the NBA after Dame Priscilla Kuye, who served as president between 1991 and 1992.

In her acceptance speech, however, Badejo-Okusanya called for unity within the legal profession and urged members to move beyond the bitterly fought election.

She stated, “Today, I stand before you with a heart filled with profound gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility.”

Badejo-Okusanya also stated that her victory was not hers alone but belonged to members who believed that the NBA could become “stronger, more inclusive, more responsive, and better positioned to serve the interests of all lawyers.”

The NBA president-elect further maintained that her nationwide consultations during the campaign had enabled her to listen to the hopes, concerns, aspirations, and ideas of lawyers, and vowed that those conversations would inform her leadership.

She also extended her thanks to all members who participated in the election, regardless of which candidate they supported.

“The election is over. We are one Bar, united by a shared commitment to advancing our profession and defending justice and the rule of law,” Badejo-Okusanya stated.

She pledged to lead with “integrity, courage, humility, fairness, and accountability,” vowing to serve as president for all members of the association.

But the post-election dispute is the latest in a series of controversies trailing the 2026 NBA election.

The poll was delayed for several hours after the ECNBA announced what it described as a coordinated cyberattack on its electronic voting platform.

Voting, which was originally set to start at midnight on 18 July, actually began at 7:35 a.m. after the committee moved the process to a new domain and added extra security measures.

The disruption was followed by complaints of technical difficulties, including alleged OTP failures, voter authentication issues, and concerns over the integrity of the electronic voting system.

The election had also been preceded by disputes over alleged attempts to postpone the poll, dissolve the ECNBA, and introduce changes to the voting and authentication process.

The NBA leadership rejected what it described as purported directives linked to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), insisting that the association was autonomous and that only its constitutional organs could decide the conduct or postponement of its elections.

There were also calls from some stakeholders to use the National Identification Number (NIN) and registered telephone numbers to authenticate voters, amid concerns about the security of email-based verification and the possible interception of OTPs.

The NBA’s National Executive Council eventually voted overwhelmingly for the election to proceed as scheduled, with 127 members supporting the 18 July poll and 15 favouring a one-week postponement.