The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has invited the Department of State Services (DSS), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to monitor its 2026 national officers’ election scheduled for Saturday.
NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), disclosed this while reaffirming the association’s commitment to conducting a transparent, free and credible electronic election despite ongoing controversies surrounding the exercise.
Osigwe said the association had also opened the process to independent scrutiny by inviting foreign observers, dismissing allegations that the election had been manipulated in favour of any of the presidential candidates.
He explained that the seven-member Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association was constituted through a transparent process approved by the association’s National Executive Committee.
The NBA President, however, condemned what he described as deliberate attempts to frustrate the election through court actions and unverified allegations, warning that such actions could tarnish the image of the legal profession.
The association had earlier zoned its presidential position to the Western region, comprising Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta states.
Following the zoning arrangement, the Electoral Committee cleared three Senior Advocates of Nigeria to contest the presidency. They are Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro of the Abuja Branch, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya of the Lagos Branch and Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, also of the Lagos Branch.
The process, however, sparked opposition from Egbe Amofin O’odua, an association of Yoruba lawyers, which insisted that Akinboro should emerge as the region’s consensus candidate. The group subsequently instituted legal proceedings seeking the disqualification of members of the Electoral Committee.
Although an Oyo State High Court initially issued restraining orders affecting the election process, the Court of Appeal later set aside the orders, paving the way for the poll to proceed.
Speaking on Friday, Osigwe insisted that the lawsuits were aimed at disrupting the association’s democratic process.
He disclosed that the National Executive Committee held an emergency meeting after calls for the election to be postponed but eventually resolved that the exercise should continue as planned.
Osigwe also revealed that one of the service providers engaged for the election was recently arrested but later released. He expressed concern over the seizure of the provider’s laptop by the DSS, saying the development had raised questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
He expressed hope that there would be no further interference from security agencies, stressing that the association remained committed to delivering a credible election.
The NBA President explained that the voting process would include electronic verification using lawyers’ enrolment numbers, email confirmation, one-time passwords sent to registered phone numbers and identity verification through the National Identification Number.
According to him, while the association supports measures that promote transparency, it rejected suggestions that the election should be conducted through the National Identity Management Commission’s online portal, insisting that the process should remain fair and accessible to all eligible voters.
He maintained that the Electoral Committee operates independently of the NBA leadership and assured members that every necessary step had been taken to guarantee a transparent and credible election.
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