The President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has promised to commission an independent review of the association’s 2026 national officers’ election amid continuing questions about the credibility of the electronic voting process.
Badejo-Okusanya said she would relinquish the presidency if the proposed audit establishes that manipulation materially affected the outcome in her favour. She maintained that she does not wish to assume office under a cloud of unresolved allegations and considers transparency essential to restoring confidence in the Bar’s electoral system.
Speaking during a television interview, the President-elect also disclosed that she successfully completed the voting process but later could not find her name on the final voters’ list. The discovery emerged after her fellow contestants raised concerns about their own inability to participate in the poll.
She acknowledged that the election experienced technical difficulties following what the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association described as a cyberattack on the original platform. According to her account, the service providers had to deploy a replacement system within a short period, after which voting proceeded with intermittent challenges.
Despite the complaints, Badejo-Okusanya argued that the poll was subjected to unusually intense public scrutiny. She said the results were updated gradually and observed in real time, making any large-scale manipulation difficult to conceal.
The official result credited Badejo-Okusanya with 12,317 votes. Lateef Akangbe, SAN, received 7,934 votes, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, recorded 5,855 votes. Some contestants and members of the association have nevertheless questioned the process, citing technical failures and the reported exclusion of eligible voters.
The President-elect said she had attempted to reach out to her former opponents in the interest of reconciliation and unity within the association. She also denied being informed that outgoing NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, had selected or endorsed her as his preferred successor.
Addressing concerns about her family’s perceived political connections, Badejo-Okusanya insisted that her mandate came from NBA members and that her responsibility would remain to the association. She identified lawyers’ welfare, professional prosperity, judicial independence, access to justice and the protection of the rule of law as major priorities for her administration.
The promised audit is expected to become a major test of the incoming administration’s commitment to electoral reform and accountability, particularly as sections of the Bar continue to demand a fuller examination of the technology and procedures deployed for the election.
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