Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has been elected the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) after defeating two other senior lawyers in the association’s 2026 national officers’ election.
The Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Aham Ejelam, SAN, announced the results at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja on Sunday following the conclusion of the election, which was delayed by technical glitches and a cyberattack.
Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast, to defeat her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, who polled 7,934 votes, or 30.39 per cent. The third candidate, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, received 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
According to Ejelam, a total of 26,106 votes were cast in the election.
Badejo-Okusanya will serve a two-year term from 2026 to 2028 and becomes only the second woman to lead the NBA, after Priscilla Kuye, who served as president from 1991 to 1992.
Other elected national officers include Oghenero Okoro as First Vice-President with 11,024 votes; Afam Okeke as General Secretary with 8,478 votes; Aghogho Gladys as Assistant General Secretary with 14,312 votes; and Chinelo Audrey Ofoegbunam as Welfare Secretary with 14,911 votes.
Badejo-Okusanya was absent when the results were announced.
A member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, attributed her absence to a flight delay and said the president-elect was committed to extending a “handshake of friendship” to all aggrieved candidates in the interest of unity.
Speaking after the declaration of the results, outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, said the election withstood several attempts to disrupt the process, including a cyberattack that forced the electoral committee to rebuild and migrate its ICT system to a more secure server.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed. This is a trying time for the Bar. In the build-up to this election, many went to great lengths to rubbish the association,” he said.
Osigwe urged the newly elected officers to be magnanimous in victory and called on unsuccessful candidates to support the new leadership.
“To those who won, be magnanimous in victory; for those who lost, there is always another day. The cyberattack shows that we must do more in data protection. Let us collectively do things in an acceptable manner,” he said.
He added: “Someday, the story will be told of how this election was almost sabotaged.
“We must continue to promote the rule of law, and the NBA, as an association of lawyers, should be able to determine the course of its electoral process. Where we made mistakes, I believe my successor will correct them.
“Winners should extend the hand of fellowship to those who lost and work together to move the Bar forward.
“The unity of the Bar cannot and should never be negotiated. As I bow out, I wish the new executive committee every success in office.
“May we never see the day when those who lead us are elected by people other than lawyers.”
Osigwe also disclosed that the ECNBA would conduct a comprehensive review of the electoral process, particularly the challenges encountered, to strengthen confidence in future NBA elections and improve the association’s cybersecurity and electoral integrity.
