Senior Advocate of Nigeria Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya has been elected as the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), following an election marred by technical delays and a cyberattack.
The results were announced on Sunday at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja by the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, Aham Ejelam.
Mrs Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes—representing 47% of the total ballots cast—to defeat her closest rival, Lateef Akangbe, who pulled in 7,934 votes. A third candidate, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, finished last with 5,855 votes.
The victory makes Mrs Badejo-Okusanya only the second female president in the history of the prominent legal association, following Priscilla Kuye’s tenure over three decades ago in 1991. She will lead the bar for a two-year term running until 2028.
‘Sabotage’ attempt foiled
The election process faced severe disruptions before the final tally of 26,106 votes could be completed. Outgoing NBA President Afam Osigwe revealed that hackers had systematically targeted the electronic voting infrastructure.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm,” Mr. Osigwe said. “Every effort to derail this process failed.”
The electoral committee was forced to completely rebuild and migrate its ICT systems to a more secure server mid-vote to ensure the integrity of the ballot. Mr. Osigwe added that the cyberattack highlighted an urgent need for the association to bolster its data protection measures, promising a full review of the election’s cybersecurity flaws.
A call for unity
The president-elect was absent during the official declaration in Abuja. A senior member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, attributed her absence to a flight delay but emphasized that she was already working to unite the fractured union.
Mr. Gadanya stated that the new president is fully committed to extending a “handshake of friendship” to her opponents to heal divisions caused by the highly competitive race.
Other key officials elected to the new executive committee include Oghenero Okoro as First Vice-President and Afam Okeke as General Secretary.
Urging the incoming leadership to remain humble, the outgoing president concluded: “Winners should extend the hand of fellowship to those who lost… The unity of the Bar cannot and should never be negotiated.”
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