The outcome of the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national officers’ election has continued to spark intense debate across the legal community, exposing deep divisions over the credibility of the exercise despite its historic significance. 
  
While the emergence of the association’s first female president elected through direct ballot has been widely celebrated as a landmark achievement, the conduct of the poll has attracted both commendation and criticism.
  
For many lawyers, the election marked another step towards a more inclusive and democratic NBA, with supporters arguing that universal suffrage remains the fairest means of electing the association’s leaders despite the challenges encountered. 
  
Others, however, described the exercise as flawed, citing alleged irregularities, technical failures, voter disenfranchisement and concerns over the integrity of the electronic voting process.
  
Some aggrieved stakeholders have even called for independent investigations into the election, while others insist that the focus should be on strengthening, rather than abandoning, the current voting system.
  
A lawyer, Evans Ufeli, while reacting to concerns over disputes and complaints arising from the elections, acknowledged that members’ frustrations were understandable, but maintained that universal suffrage represented a significant improvement in the NBA’s electoral process.
  
According to him, allowing every eligible member to vote gives the wider legal community a direct voice in choosing its leaders, making the process more inclusive and reflective of the collective will, unlike the delegate system, which limits participation to selected representatives.
  
He noted that while no electoral system is without challenges, disputes and complaints could arise under both universal suffrage and the delegate model.
  
Ufeli warned that returning to a delegate-based system could reduce participation and undermine transparency, stressing that the focus should instead be on improving the existing framework through stronger safeguards.
  
He called for measures to ensure fairness, address technical challenges, improve election monitoring and build confidence in the credibility of the process so that members can accept election outcomes.
  
The lawyer further urged the NBA to position itself as a model for credible elections among professional bodies and a benchmark for the country’s electoral system.
  
“For the NBA to truly lead by example, setting a standard not just for INEC but also for other professional bodies, the emphasis should be on strengthening the universal suffrage system, ensuring clearer rules, seamless processes and prompt dispute resolution,” he said.
  
Ufeli added that continuous reforms, institutional learning and the effective deployment of technology would move the association closer to building a respected and credible electoral model.
  
Chuba Ogbui, also a lawyer, said technological advancements have made the delegate system less suitable, arguing that electronic voting should enable every eligible member of the association to participate seamlessly if properly managed.
  
According to him, the pre-election period was dominated by bitter controversies, with various interest groups insisting they were entitled to produce the NBA president. 
  

While acknowledging that no election is entirely free of disputes, he stressed that every electoral process should meet minimum standards of credibility and fairness.
  
Describing the last NBA election as the most controversial, Ogbui said it was alleged that more than 70 per cent of eligible voters were unable to cast their ballots because they could not access the voting website.

He, however, noted that he could not verify the allegation, although he personally had trouble accessing the platform and was unable to vote.
  “The two previous e-voting elections were relatively smooth, despite allegations of violations,” he said.
  
Ogbui urged the NBA to constitute a committee of respected elders to review the election process and recommend a hitch-free voting system, saying the association should set the benchmark for credible elections as a body of learned men and women.
  
Another lawyer, Hyginus Orioha, argued that the controversy surrounding the NBA presidential election was driven more by the conduct of key actors than by the voting system adopted.
  
According to him, the debate over whether the association should retain the delegate system or continue with universal suffrage misses the real issues behind the disputed exercise.
  
Orioha alleged that the outgoing NBA National Executive Committee, led by Afam Osigwe (SAN), sought to influence the election’s outcome in favour of its preferred candidate, Mrs Badejo-Okusanya (SAN), a development he claimed triggered widespread public criticism.
  
“For me, the system is not the issue. Whether it is the delegates or universal suffrage, the gladiators are the problem. In trying to perpetuate their orchestrated plan, the whole system was manipulated, hence the public outcry,” he said.
 
He further alleged that the intervention of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in support of what he described as an anointed candidate further undermined confidence in the electoral process.
  
Orioha lamented that internal NBA elections had become increasingly influenced by the style of politics associated with Nigeria’s broader political landscape.
  
“The NBA election has been infested with the politics of Nigeria. It is unfortunate,” he added.
  
The National President of the Admiralty Lawyers Society of Nigeria, Angus Obinna Chukwuka, acknowledged that there were a few irregularities, but argued that such challenges were not peculiar to the NBA, noting that elections worldwide, including Nigeria’s political contests, often attract complaints.
  
He dismissed claims that the outcome was predetermined because Badejo-Okusanya was perceived as the preferred candidate of the outgoing NBA President.
  
“The fact that she was supported by the incumbent was never hidden, but it did not stop other candidates from campaigning freely or their supporters from voting. Neither did it result in any obvious manipulation of the outcome,” he said.
  
Commenting on the controversy surrounding the election, Chukwuka alleged that some groups sought to halt the process after realising their preferred candidate was unlikely to emerge victorious. 
  
He maintained, however, that Badejo-Okusanya’s support base extended beyond any regional bloc.
  
On electoral reforms, the lawyer strongly opposed a return to the delegate system, describing it as elitist and exclusionary.
  
“The universal suffrage model is inclusive and gives every interested lawyer a voice. As National President of the Admiralty Lawyers Society, I was able to mobilise a significant number of our members to participate. We do not need to return to the delegate system,” he said.
  
He urged the NBA to strengthen its online voting platform by deploying robust technology capable of guaranteeing the integrity of both the front-end and back-end systems.
  
Chukwuka added that while complaints would always accompany elections, lawyers should embrace political sportsmanship, accept defeat where necessary and focus on improving future contests. 
 
He also advised Badejo-Okusanya to run an inclusive administration, avoid victimising opponents, fulfil campaign promises and work with relevant stakeholders to sanitise both the Bar and the Bench.
  
An Associate at Roy & Associates, Merit Chekwube Nworie, said the election represented a significant moment in the history of the legal body but stressed that the achievement should not overshadow the challenges experienced by voters.
  
According to her, the election was plagued by complaints ranging from technical glitches and delays in the commencement of voting to cyber-attacks, One-Time Password (OTP) failures and difficulties accessing the electronic voting portal.
  
Nworie disclosed that she was unable to cast her vote despite repeated attempts from morning until midnight, describing her experience as evidence that the process was affected by operational shortcomings.
  
She, however, argued that the challenges should not justify a return to the delegate voting system, insisting that universal suffrage remains the most democratic option for the association.
  
“The reason universal suffrage was introduced is to deepen internal democracy and broaden participation. The NBA, as a defender of the rule of law and democratic values, cannot advocate democracy in society while operating a delegate system internally,” she said.
  
Nworie maintained that universal suffrage promotes inclusiveness and reduces the influence of political “kingmakers” who could dominate a delegate-based process.
  
Rather than abandoning the system, she called for comprehensive reforms aimed at strengthening transparency, integrity and technological reliability in future elections.
  
She recommended partnering with reputable technology providers, allowing real-time observation by candidates, agents and independent monitors, and introducing mandatory post-election independent audits to investigate complaints and improve future electoral processes.
 
According to her, while post-election grievances may never disappear completely, credible reforms would ensure that complaints become the exception rather than the norm.
  
She added that reverting to the delegate system would amount to a retrogressive step capable of diminishing the NBA’s credibility, stressing that the 2026 election demonstrated both the promise of universal suffrage and the urgent need for better implementation.
  
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and presidential candidate in the recent NBA national officers’ election, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, has called on the Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other relevant agencies to investigate the conduct of the poll, alleging widespread constitutional, procedural and technological breaches.
  
In a 41-page statement, the former NBA General Secretary described the election as a sham and ruled out filing a petition before the NBA National Officers Election Appeal Committee over perceived compromise.
  
Akinboro argued that the process that produced the new NBA leadership did not qualify as an election recognised under the NBA Constitution, insisting that the suspension of the original exercise and subsequent migration to another electronic voting portal created an entirely different process.
  
According to him, the new platform ought to have complied with constitutional provisions requiring trial messages to members at least 21 days before the election and integrity tests to confirm its functionality.
  
In a post on his X account, Akinboro said his demands were aimed at protecting the credibility of the Bar and strengthening confidence in its democratic processes, warning that he would pursue other legal remedies if his requests were ignored.
  
The second runners-up in the election, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN) expressed similar sentiment with Akinboro, insisting that the election was a sham that ought to be investigated. 
  
He claimed that since the number of accredited voters who could not vote was high enough to alter the outcome of the polls, the right thing was to cancel the election and quickly organise a rerun, adding that his numerous supporters were disenfranchised.