By Ajibila Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
SENIOR ADVOCATE of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has been elected the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), becoming only the second woman in the association’s 93-year history to occupy the office.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that her victory followed a fiercely contested election that was disrupted by technical failures and a cyberattack before voting was successfully concluded.
Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA), Aham Ejelam (SAN), announced the results on Sunday at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja after the electoral process was completed.
Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 percent of the 26,106 valid votes cast, defeating fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Lateef Akangbe (SAN), who polled 7,934 votes (30.39 percent), and Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN), who received 5,855 votes (22.43 percent).
She will serve a two-year tenure from 2026 to 2028, succeeding Afam Osigwe (SAN), and becoming the first woman elected to the office through a competitive ballot since the NBA’s establishment in 1933.
Her emergence comes 35 years after Dame Priscilla Olabori Kuye became the first woman to head the NBA, SAN, during the 1991-1992 administration.
Other national officers elected 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 after polling 14,911 votes.
Badejo-Okusanya was absent during the declaration of results due to a flight disruption. However, a member of her campaign organisation, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, said the president-elect remained committed to extending a “handshake of friendship” to her opponents and their supporters in the interest of unity within the Bar.
Outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, disclosed that the election faced multiple attempts at disruption, including a significant cyberattack that forced the Electoral Committee to rebuild its information technology infrastructure and migrate to a more secure server before voting could resume.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed,” Osigwe said.
He urged victorious candidates to lead with humility while calling on unsuccessful contestants to support the incoming administration.
“The unity of the Bar cannot and should never be negotiated,” he added, stressing that the cyberattack underscored the urgent need for stronger electoral security and data protection within the association.
Osigwe also announced that the Electoral Committee would undertake a comprehensive review of the election process, including the technical failures and cyber breach, to strengthen confidence in future NBA elections.
In her first remarks after emerging president-elect, Badejo-Okusanya thanked members of the Nigerian Bar Association for their confidence, describing her victory as a collective success for everyone who believed in her vision of “A Bolder Bar That Works for Everyone.”
She also expressed appreciation to her fellow contestants, campaign team, mentors, family and supporters, pledging to serve every lawyer with integrity, courage, accountability and humility.
“The campaign is over; the work begins now,” she declared, promising to build an NBA “where lawyers can earn better, live better and practise better.”
Founded in 1933, the Nigerian Bar Association remains the umbrella body for legal practitioners in Nigeria and has historically played a leading role in defending constitutional democracy, judicial independence and the rule of law.
—
