Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, is on course to become the first elected female president of the Nigerian Bar Association after emerging as the clear leader in the association's 2026 national election. Results seen by TheCable on the live dashboard of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association showed that Badejo-Okusanya had polled 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast. Her closest challenger, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, also a SAN, garnered 7,934 votes (30.39 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, secured 5,855 votes (22.43 per cent).
The election recorded 26,106 votes from 82,172 registered voters, representing a 31.86 per cent participation rate, according to the ECNBA dashboard. Badejo-Okusanya's commanding lead places her in a strong position to become the next president of the NBA and the first woman to hold the office, once the Electoral Committee formally announces the final result. Founded in 1933, the NBA has for decades been led exclusively by male presidents, making a victory for Badejo-Okusanya a major milestone in the association's history.
The election, which was conducted electronically, concluded after the ECNBA extended voting until 7:35 a.m. on Sunday, July 19, 2026, following widespread complaints of technical difficulties and reports that many eligible lawyers were unable to cast their ballots within the initial timeframe. Voting had originally been scheduled to commence at midnight on Saturday, but was postponed after the ECNBA disclosed that the electronic voting platform had come under what it described as a "deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack" aimed at disrupting the electoral process.
The poll was ultimately marred by significant controversy. Lateef Akangbe wrote an emergency protest to the ECNBA, demanding the immediate suspension of the election. The former chairman of the NBA Lagos branch alleged that the electronic voting portal had collapsed, that voters were receiving one-time passwords through email instead of SMS in violation of the committee's revised guidelines, and that the presidential ballot displayed the photograph of only one candidate while omitting others. Akangbe argued that the alleged failures had compromised the credibility of the exercise. "A flawed, rushed election carried out today under these chaotic conditions cannot yield a credible result," he wrote in the protest letter. "Whoever is declared the winner of an election conducted on a collapsed portal, with breached authentication, and on a visually defective ballot, will not lead the Bar with the confidence of the profession".
The election was also preceded by weeks of controversy, including litigation, calls for the postponement of the poll, and disagreements over the choice of a consensus candidate for the presidency. The ECNBA is yet to make any official announcement declaring the election concluded or formally announcing the winner.
Despite the controversies, the available figures indicate an unassailable lead for Badejo-Okusanya. If declared the winner, she will become the second woman to lead the association in its history, following the late Priscilla Kuye, who served as the acting president between 2009 and 2010, but Badejo-Okusanya would be the first to be elected through the ballot box. Her victory would mark a watershed moment for the NBA and the legal profession in Nigeria, demonstrating that the Bar is ready to embrace change and gender inclusivity in its leadership.
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