Akangbe SAN Petitions NBA-NOEAC, Seeks Nullification of 2026 Presidential Election

Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, a candidate in the just concluded 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national officers presidential election, has formally petitioned the NBA National Officers Election Appeal Committee (NBA‑NOEAC) to nullify the 2026 presidential election of the Nigerian Bar Association and order a fresh poll.

In his petition dated 27 July 2026, Akangbe alleged that the election held on 18 July was marred by widespread irregularities and substantial non‑compliance with the NBA Constitution (2015, as amended) and the ECNBA Guidelines.

The petition challenges the declaration of Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, as the winner of the presidential election. According to the results announced by the ECNBA, Badejo-Okunsanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast. Akangbe polled 7,934 votes (30.39 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro received 5,855 votes (22.43 per cent).

Akangbe’s petition centres on what he described as significant failures in the electronic voting process. He alleged that the official voting platform became inaccessible within minutes of the commencement of voting and remained unavailable for more than seven hours. According to him, the ECNBA later attributed the disruption to a coordinated cyberattack, a claim he said has not been independently verified.

He further alleged that the election was subsequently migrated to another voting platform which, according to him, had neither been approved by the NBA National Executive Council (NEC) nor subjected to testing by the information technology representatives of the candidates.

The senior lawyer also expressed concerns over the use of multiple voting websites and links during the election, contending that the development created confusion among eligible voters and undermined confidence in the integrity of the process.

In addition, Akangbe questioned the voting pattern reflected in the live election results, alleging that expert analysis suggested a predictable progression of votes in favour of the eventual winner. He consequently requested access to the backend of the electronic voting platform and other technical records to enable an independent forensic audit of the election.

The petitioner also alleged that thousands of eligible lawyers were unable to vote because they did not receive the One-Time Passwords (OTPs) required to authenticate their participation. He stated that although 82,213 lawyers were listed as eligible voters, only 26,106 successfully cast their votes, leaving 56,107 eligible members unable to participate.

According to him, more than 25,000 of those allegedly disenfranchised voters were expected to support his candidacy. He also claimed that he personally could not cast his vote despite being one of the presidential candidates.

Akangbe further challenged the duration of the election, arguing that although voting was scheduled to conclude at 11:59 p.m. on July 18, it was allegedly extended into the early hours of July 19 without adequate notice or explanation to participants.

As part of his appeal, he is seeking access to a wide range of electronic records relating to the conduct of the election, including the voters’ register, final results, server and application logs, system backups, network traffic records, authentication records, voting timestamps, OTP delivery records, security protocols, administrative access logs and other technical data, which he said are necessary to facilitate a comprehensive audit of the election process.

Akangbe maintained that the alleged irregularities were substantial and capable of materially affecting the outcome of the election, arguing that the declared result could not be regarded as the product of a credible, transparent and valid electoral process.

Among the reliefs sought, the petitioner is asking the NBA National Officers Election Appeal Committee to declare that the election was marred by substantial irregularities, nullify the results, set aside the declaration of Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, as winner, and order the conduct of a fresh presidential election.

The Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), and Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, were named as respondents in the petition.

Meanwhile, the National Officers Election Appeals Committee (NBA-NOEAC) has formally announced the closure of the window for filing petitions challenging the results of the recently concluded 2026 NBA National Officers Election. In a notice dated 28 July 2026, the Committee confirmed that the deadline expired on 27 July 2026, in strict compliance with the provisions of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2025) and the approved post-election guidelines.

The Committee emphasized that no petitions would be entertained beyond the stipulated deadline and disclosed that only three petitions were received within the constitutionally prescribed period.

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