NBA election: Can Nigerian lawyers guard Nigerian democracy?

First half of the article

THE Nigerian Bar Association recently elected Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, as its 33rd President, making her only the second woman to lead the Association and the first elected to the office. That historic achievement was quickly overshadowed by controversy. The election was disrupted by a reported cyberattack and technical failures. Badejo-Okusanya polled 12,317 votes, ahead of Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN (7,934) and Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN (5,855). Yet only 26,184 of the Association’s 82,172 registered members voted—a turnout of 31.86 per cent.

Low turnout alone does not prove disenfranchisement. More troubling, however, were reports from lawyers who said they repeatedly attempted to vote but were unable to do so. One presidential candidate, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, reportedly could not even cast his own vote.

Curious about these developments, I asked a senior lawyer and notary public in a group conversation:

Me: “Madam, should we congratulate you and your NBA colleagues for electing the second woman President and the first through an election? I read there were irregularities. Could you educate us?”

She: “The election was very chaotic. More than 70 per cent of our members were completely disenfranchised. They were unable to vote, not because they didn’t want to, but because they were prevented from doing so.”

Me: ”Even lawyers—the supposed democratic guardians! But are you at least happy that a fellow woman emerged?”

She :”Ordinarily, I would have been happy if she had emerged on merit.”

Merit may qualify a candidate for office; only a credible election legitimises the office holder.

Me: “Would the matter go to court?”

She: ”Maybe they will, but it will likely be an effort in futility. The case may not be concluded before the winner completes the two-year tenure.”

Me: “If members of the Temple of Justice can be prevented—whether by technological failure, administrative incompetence or something more troubling—from exercising their franchise, and cannot obtain justice before the disputed tenure expires, what then is the hope for Nigerian democracy?”

At the time of writing, the Electoral Committee had acknowledged technical disruptions and announced investigations. However, the scope and implications of those disruptions remained the subject of dispute among many members.

Not an isolated incident

The 2026 NBA election did not occur in isolation. Since adopting electronic voting in 2016, successive elections have attracted allegations of irregularities, technical failures, cybersecurity concerns and litigation. These point to recurring institutional weakness requiring credible reform.

Wondering why a professional association’s election had generated such controversy, a veteran journalist offered a simple explanation: “People use these professional organisations to negotiate real power. They are ladders to something higher. Hence the heat.” If democratic processes can be compromised within the Bar because of the pursuit of political and institutional influence beyond it, then Nigerians have every reason to worry.

Pervasive democratic guardians

Few professions are as deeply embedded in constitutional order as the legal profession. They are democracy’s most pervasive institutional guardians. Let us look at this in more detail.

The Judiciary: A democracy without a dependable judiciary is a collapsing bridge. It may stand for a while, but it will soon rupture completely—losing the weight placed upon it. In Nigeria, every judge enters the Temple of Justice through the legal profession. Before citizens meet judges, they first meet the Bar. The ethical culture of the Bar significantly influences the quality and integrity of the Bench. Integrity at the Bar strengthens the Bench; manipulation weakens it.That is why every Nigerian lawyer is described as a minister in the Temple of Justice. The title carries a moral obligation to place justice above convenience, law above political pressure and constitutional order above personal advantage.

The constitution making & legislature: A democracy without a functioning constitution is like a luxury vehicle riding on deflated tyres. Its engine may run, but it cannot carry a nation safely forward. Nigeria owes much of its constitutional architecture to lawyers. Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, helped shape Nigeria’s constitutional architecture by drafting Chapter II of the 1979 Constitution and leading the design of…

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