Fresh controversies have engulfed the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national elections, as multiple court cases, allegations of bias against the association’s leadership, and disputes over zoning and consensus arrangements threaten to overshadow the July 20 presidential poll.
The election, which will produce a successor to the incumbent NBA President, Afam Osigwe (SAN), is expected to be contested by three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs): Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, Yemi Akangbe, and Olumuyiwa Akinboro.
However, what began as a keenly contested three-way race has increasingly shifted to the courtroom, with ongoing litigation challenging the electoral process and raising concerns over the credibility and transparency of the exercise.
One of the major legal disputes was instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of Egbe Amofin O’odua, a Yoruba lawyers’ association, which is seeking to enforce the adoption of Akinboro as the sole consensus candidate for the Western Zone in line with the group’s zoning arrangement.
The suit followed Egbe Amofin’s decision to endorse Akinboro after the Midwest Bar, comprising Edo and Delta states, declined to participate in the presidential race, having produced the last two NBA presidents from the zone.
On February 24, 2026, Justice Y. S. Adekunle of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan, granted an interim injunction restraining the NBA from recognising or processing nominations outside the consensus arrangement pending the determination of the suit.
Although the matter has since been adjourned indefinitely pending an appeal, the endorsement prompted the withdrawal of another aspirant, Prof. Foluke Dada-Lawanson, while Badejo-Okusanya and Akangbe declined to step down from the race.
In a separate suit, Justice G. A. Opayinka of the Oyo State High Court, on March 5, 2026, granted an interim order restraining the NBA from taking further steps towards conducting the 2026 national elections.
The court also restrained the NBA President, Afam Osigwe (SAN), and other defendants from constituting or supervising the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), pending the hearing of a suit filed by four lawyers challenging the legitimacy of the electoral process.
The suit was instituted by Ibrahim Lawal, Raymond Oki, Omotan Olusola Ogunmodede, and Chief Gabriel Ojo Adekunle Ijalana.
Despite the pending court cases and mounting controversy, the ECNBA, chaired by Aham Ejelam (SAN), has fixed July 20, 2026, for the conduct of the elections.
Adding to the controversy, presidential contenders Akinboro and Akangbe jointly petitioned the NBA Board of Trustees, demanding Osigwe’s resignation over what they described as his “open admission of bias” and alleged partisan conduct ahead of the elections.
They argued that the NBA could not credibly champion fairness, justice, and the rule of law while condoning actions capable of undermining confidence in its own electoral process.
Other lawyers and interest groups have also accused the NBA leadership and the ECNBA of favouritism, citing previous electoral disputes within the association, including controversies surrounding elections into the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL).
Osigwe, however, denied the allegations through his counsel, Abdul Mohammed (SAN), describing the claims as speculative and lacking constitutional or factual foundation.
According to the response, the ECNBA operates independently of the NBA President, while Osigwe’s visits to NBA branches across the country were undertaken in the discharge of his official responsibilities rather than as campaign activities.
The response also dismissed allegations that the NBA President interfered in SPIDEL elections, insisting that decisions relating to the section were collectively taken at its Annual General Meeting.
Meanwhile, former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has alleged that vested interests are attempting to manipulate the forthcoming NBA presidential election by ensuring that one candidate emerges unopposed.
In a series of posts on X last week, Odinkalu alleged that Egbe Amofin O’odua’s endorsement of Akinboro was part of an effort to prevent other candidates from participating in the election, a move he argued would undermine the association’s constitutional and institutional framework.
The human rights advocate further alleged that some interests had threatened to seek the appointment of a sole administrator to oversee the NBA should their demands not be met.
He also urged lawyers to defend the association’s “One Lawyer, One Vote” electoral system, claiming that one of the presidential candidates intends to abolish it if elected.
“If you are a younger lawyer in Nigeria, there is a presidential candidate in this election who wants to abolish One Lawyer, One Vote if he wins. Ask yourself if that is what you want,” Odinkalu stated.
In a related development, a pressure group, Young Lawyers for Democracy, has rejected Egbe Amofin O’odua’s attempt to restrict the presidential contest to a consensus candidate.
In a statement signed by its Director-General, Isa Tochukwu, the group maintained that the NBA belongs to all lawyers and not to any regional or political bloc.
It argued that the association’s universal suffrage principle should not be sacrificed for consensus arrangements and vowed to defend members’ constitutional right to freely elect their leaders.
With less than two weeks to the election, the combination of pending litigation, allegations of bias, and disagreements over zoning and consensus has heightened uncertainty over the credibility of the process, raising fresh concerns about whether the NBA can conduct a transparent, inclusive, and widely accepted national election.