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 to lead the association in its more than 60-year history.
Her election marks a significant milestone for the legal profession, making her the first woman to be elected NBA president through a direct electoral contest since the association’s inception. She follows Mrs. Priscilla Kuye, who served as NBA president from 1991 to 1992 after assuming office from her position as First Vice President following the appointment of the then NBA President, Clement Akpamgbo, as Attorney-General of the Federation.
Badejo-Okusanya emerged victorious in the 2026 NBA national officers’ election, defeating two fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria in a keenly contested poll.
Announcing the results at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja on Sunday, Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Aham Ejelam, SAN, said Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast.
Her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, polled 7,934 votes, representing 30.39 per cent, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, garnered 5,855 votes, accounting for 22.43 per cent. A total of 26,106 votes were cast in the election.
The election experienced delays following technical glitches and a cyberattack that disrupted the process before the electoral committee successfully migrated its ICT infrastructure to a more secure server.
Badejo-Okusanya will serve a two-year tenure as NBA president from 2026 to 2028.
Other officials 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 not present when the results were declared. A member of her campaign team, Aminu Gadanya, SAN, attributed her absence to flight delays, assuring members that she remained committed to fostering unity within the association.
According to Gadanya, Badejo-Okusanya is prepared to extend a “handshake of friendship” to her opponents in the interest of strengthening the NBA.
Speaking after the announcement, the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, disclosed that the election survived deliberate attempts to derail the process, including a cyberattack on the association’s electoral system.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed,” Osigwe said.
He urged the newly elected officers to be magnanimous in victory while encouraging unsuccessful candidates to support the incoming leadership for the progress of the association.
Osigwe also stressed the need for stronger cybersecurity measures, noting that the cyberattack underscored the importance of improving data protection within the NBA.
