That charade, that well-orchestrated electoral brigandage, that premeditated electoral banditry, that daylight ballot robbery consortium, has come and gone, but the fury, the despair, the frustration, the disappointment, the tension, and the anxiety it generated will live in our traumatized memories as a constant reminder of the worst election in the history of the Nigerian Bar Association. What was branded an election was, in the eyes of many discerning members, a premeditated subversion of process. Yes. The disillusionment it triggered will not fade quickly. Lord Acton’s dictum rings true, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo, SAN, and her supporters may celebrate, but theirs is a pyrrhic victory. A mandate procured through institutional manipulation cannot command respect. It mirrors the biblical brigand who, unable to enter by the door, breaks through the sheepgate. Legitimacy is not conferred by announcement alone. It is earned through process.
For a professional body that holds itself out as the conscience of the nation, the NBA is expected to exemplify due process, transparency, and ethical hygiene in its internal affairs. That expectation was betrayed.
The compromise began with the constitution of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association. Its composition breached clear provisions of the NBA Constitution. Several presidential aspirants and senior members of the Bar raised alarm early, demanding dissolution and reconstitution. Those warnings were met with indifference. The leadership proceeded, determined to foist a fait accompli on the Bar.
This was not a contest of novices. Three distinguished members of the Inner Bar sought the presidency. Yet throughout the campaigns, two of them, Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, and Lateef Akangbe, SAN, repeatedly expressed no confidence in the ECNBA. They cited bias, opacity, and procedural irregularities. In any system anchored on justice, perception matters. Like justice, electoral credibility is rooted in confidence. Once a contestant reasonably believes the umpire is compromised, the entire process is tainted. When two of three candidates openly reject the referee before the match begins, proceeding regardless is not courage. It is impunity.
What occurred on July 18, 2026, cannot in good conscience be described as a free and fair election. As a young lawyer who chose engagement over cynicism, I witnessed a wholesale abandonment of rules, fairness, and transparency. For an association whose motto is ‘promoting the rule of law,’ the irony is brutal.
The damage extends beyond the Bar. The current leadership has subjected the NBA to public ridicule. Comparisons with the National Union of Road Transport Workers are now common, with some derisively calling us ‘NBA-BRT.’ We have descended from the sublime to the ridiculous. We no longer possess the moral standing to interrogate INEC’s conduct of national elections. The proverbial kettle cannot call the pot black.
Of over 82,000 eligible voters, less than 35% participated. This is not voter apathy. Apathy suggests indifference. This was a deliberate withdrawal — a silent protest against a system perceived as rigged. It represents a collective vote of no confidence in the electoral architecture of the NBA. When lawyers, trained to trust and test process, abandon the ballot, the institution should be alarmed.
No press release can launder this stain. No round of media interviews by the architects of this debacle will restore trust. The Bar’s reputation, and the public’s faith in it, now hang by a thread.
There is only one credible remedy, and that is, an independent forensic audit of the backend server and entire electronic voting infrastructure used for the election. This audit must be conducted by neutral ICT experts with no ties to the NBA leadership, the ECNBA, or any candidate. Its terms of reference should be public. Its findings should be published unredacted.
Anything short of this is damage control, not accountability. The NBA cannot preach rule of law to the nation while practicing rule of men within its ranks. If we are to reclaim our voice as the voice of the voiceless, we must first clean our own house.
Until that audit is done, this election remains a stain on our collective conscience. History will record not just the fraud, but our response to it.
Israel Opah Abida, Esq,
Writes from FCT-Abuja.
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