Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has been elected the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), defeating two fellow senior lawyers in the association’s 2026 national election.
The results were announced on Sunday at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Aham Ejelam, SAN, after an election that experienced delays due to technical issues and a cyberattack.
Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total ballots cast, to emerge victorious ahead of her closest rival, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, who garnered 7,934 votes, or 30.39 per cent.
The third candidate, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
According to the ECNBA, a total of 26,106 votes were cast in the election.
With the victory, Badejo-Okusanya will lead the NBA for the 2026–2028 term and becomes only the second woman to occupy the office, following Priscilla Kuye, who served as the association’s president between 1991 and 1992.
Other 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 with 14,911 votes.
The president-elect was absent during the announcement of the results.
A member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, explained that her absence was due to a flight delay, adding that she remains committed to promoting unity within the association by extending a hand of fellowship to her opponents.
Speaking after the declaration, outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, revealed that the election survived attempts to undermine the process, including a cyberattack that forced the electoral committee to rebuild and migrate its information technology infrastructure to a more secure server.
He commended the resilience of the electoral committee and urged the newly elected officers to be magnanimous in victory, while encouraging unsuccessful candidates to support the incoming leadership in the interest of the legal profession.
Osigwe also stressed the need to strengthen cybersecurity and data protection within the association, noting that the challenges encountered during the election underscored the importance of safeguarding future electoral processes.
He further disclosed that the Electoral Committee would undertake a comprehensive review of the election to identify lessons from the exercise and improve the integrity, transparency and security of future NBA elections.
