In the early hours of Saturday, the Nigerian Bar Association’s presidential election collapsed—hours after voting began—sparking outrage and fresh calls for NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN to resign.
Three lawyers were in the race: Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, and Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya. None got to cast a vote.
The online voting portal crashed. And with it, confidence in the Bar’s leadership.
—“A National Embarrassment”—
A group within the NBA, Advocate for Rule of Law & Credibility, did not mince words.
“At 12:35am, the Nigerian Bar Association’s election did not just fail. It collapsed in full public disgrace,” the group said.
“After weeks of preparation, millions spent, and endless assurances, what we got was chaos. Members kept vigil all night only to be met with a broken portal and deafening silence.”
The group listed what it called a catalogue of failure:
1. Server boot failure: at 12:35am the portal was still loading. the system was not ready.
2. Navigation errors: those who logged in were blocked by error messages. the code refused to populate.
3. Missing candidates: photos of two presidential aspirants were missing from the ballot.
4. Misspelled names: candidate names were misspelled — “a direct assault on dignity.”
5. Abrupt shutdown: without notice, the server went off. No extension. No update. No reason.
“This is not a ‘technical glitch.’ This is leadership failure,” the group declared.
It accused the Electoral Committee of the NBA, ECNBA, of hypocrisy.
It queried: “How can you preach transparency to INEC and the world, then run an election where servers crash, pictures vanish, names are misspelled, and the process dies at midnight with zero accountability?
“What message does this send? That the Bar, the conscience of the nation, cannot manage its own affairs? Lawyers stayed awake and were humiliated. That is disrespect to the entire profession.”
—“You Must Resign Immediately”—
The group demanded Osigwe’s immediate resignation.
“Mr. President, leadership means taking responsibility. Under your watch, the NBA election failed on every metric: technology, logistics, accuracy, and communication. For the sake of the integrity of the Bar, you must resign immediately.
“Nigerian lawyers deserve a credible, verifiable election. We will not accept a flawed process. We will not accept silence.”
—Calls For Fresh Committee—
Akure-based lawyer, Dr. Olusegun F. Akeredolu, also spoke out.
“The unfortunate events have exposed serious technological glitches, procedural irregularities, and glaring inequities that have eroded confidence in the process,” he said.
He called for:
– Immediate postponement of the election
– Disbandment of the current ECNBA and appointment of a “fresh, credible, independent and competent committee”
-An unreserved apology from the NBA President “for the avoidable embarrassment and loss of confidence”
“The Nigerian Bar must always exemplify the rule of law, accountability, and institutional integrity,” Akeredolu added.
For now, the race for the NBA presidency is on hold — and the Bar’s image has taken a heavy hit.
