A candidate in the just concluded presidential election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, has called on the NBA National Officers Election Appeal Committee (NBA-NOEAC) to nullify the outcome of the exercise over alleged widespread irregularities and conduct a fresh poll.

Citing alleged failures in the electronic voting process, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) described the exercise as substantially non-compliant with the NBA Constitution, 2015 (as amended), and the guidelines issued by the NBA Electoral Committee.

In a petition dated July 27, Akangbe urged the committee to declare the July 18 election invalid, set aside the declaration of Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya (SAN) as the winner, and order a rerun, citing the alleged infractions.

According to results announced by the ECNBA, Badejo-Okunsanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast. Akangbe polled 7,934 votes (30.39 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN), garnered 5,855 votes (22.43 per cent).

He claimed that the official voting platform became inaccessible within minutes of voting commencing and remained down for over seven hours. While the ECNBA reportedly attributed the disruption to a coordinated cyberattack, he argued that the claim had not been independently verified.

He further alleged that the election was later migrated to another voting platform, which he claimed was neither approved by the NBA National Executive Council (NEC) nor tested by the candidates’ information technology representatives.

According to him, the use of multiple voting links and websites created confusion and undermined confidence in the process’s integrity.

The senior advocate also questioned the voting pattern reflected in the live results, alleging that expert analysis suggested a predictable progression of votes in favour of the eventual winner.

Consequently, he requested access to the electronic voting system’s backend and other technical records to enable an independent forensic audit.

Akangbe also alleged that thousands of eligible lawyers were disenfranchised due to failure to receive the One-Time Passwords (OTPs) required to vote. He noted that though 82,213 lawyers were listed as eligible voters, only 26,106 successfully cast their votes, leaving 56,107 unable to participate.

Moreover, he claimed that over 25,000 of the affected voters were expected to support his candidacy and further alleged that he himself could not vote despite being one of the contestants.

The petitioner also challenged the duration of the exercise, arguing that though voting was scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m. on July 18, it was extended into the early hours of July 19 without adequate notice or explanation.

As part of his appeal, Akangbe is seeking access to a wide range of electronic records, including the voters’ register, final results, server and application logs, system back-ups, network traffic records, authentication logs, voting timestamps, OTP delivery records, security protocols, and administrative access logs, among others.

He maintained that the alleged irregularities were substantial and capable of materially affecting the election’s outcome, insisting that the declared result could not be regarded as credible, transparent, or valid.

The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association, the ECNBA, and Badejo-Okunsanya were listed as respondents in the petition.