Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has won the presidential election of the Nigerian Bar Association, according to results released Sunday after 24 hours of electronic voting.
She polled 12,317 votes to emerge the winner in a three-way race, taking about 47.18 per cent of the total ballots cast for the presidential seat. Her closest rival, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, finished second, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, came in third.
Badejo-Okusanya becomes the second woman to lead the Nigerian Bar in its 66-year history, and the first in 35 years since the NBA last had a female president in 1999.
That distinction belonged to Priscilla Kuye, who led the association from 1991 to 1992. As the only female candidate among the three contenders, Badejo-Okusanya’s victory marks a historic moment for the professional body representing lawyers across Nigeria.
The election was not without controversy. Voting, scheduled to begin at midnight, was delayed until 7:35 a.m. after the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association announced that the process had been disrupted by a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” from external actors.
Despite the setback, turnout across all 13 national officer elections reached 26,184 votes, about 31.86 per cent of the 82,172 registered voters.
Badejo-Okusanya and the rest of the new leadership are expected to be formally inaugurated at the NBA’s Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, scheduled for August 21 and 28.
