Lawsuit Seeks to Halt Swearing-In of NBA President-Elect Badejo-Okusanya, Other Elected Officers

Fresh legal challenges have emerged against the just-concluded Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national elections, with a group of lawyers asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the inauguration of President-elect Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, and other newly elected national officers.

Badejo-Okusanya, who won the July 2026 NBA presidential election with 12,317 votes, is scheduled to be sworn in on August 21, 2026, succeeding the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN.

The application was filed in a pending suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1471/2026 by the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

In fresh reliefs submitted on July 20, 2026, ALDRAP urged the court to join Badejo-Okusanya, her co-contestants Lateef Akangbe, SAN, and Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, as well as Amnesty International (Nigeria Office), Yiaga Africa, and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) as parties to the suit.

The plaintiff is specifically seeking an order restraining the NBA, its National Executive Committee, and its agents from swearing in Badejo-Okusanya or any other elected national officer until the court determines the substantive case.

ALDRAP also asked the court to direct the parties to maintain the status quo pending the outcome of the suit.

According to the plaintiff, the case challenges the legality and constitutionality of the 2026 NBA election, citing alleged voter disenfranchisement, technical failures of the electronic voting platform, non-compliance with the NBA National Executive Council-approved election timetable, and constitutional issues relating to the conduct of the poll.

The association argued that the inclusion of the proposed parties was necessary to enable the court effectively determine all issues surrounding the validity of the election and the planned leadership transition.

Administrative Secretary of ALDRAP, Jesse Williams Amuga, also questioned the credibility of the election, expressing concern that domestic and international observer groups had yet to publish reports on the conduct of the electronic voting process.

Amuga said the absence of observer reports had raised questions about the transparency of the election, noting that organisations invited to monitor the exercise, including Amnesty International, Yiaga Africa and the Transition Monitoring Group, had not publicly released their findings.

The lawsuit adds another layer of controversy to the NBA election, which has faced allegations of irregularities since the announcement of the results. The Federal High Court is yet to fix a date for hearing the new application.