Badejo-Okusanya Widens Lead in NBA Presidential Poll as Over 21,000 Lawyers Cast Votes

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has extended her lead in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election after fresh results placed her comfortably ahead of her two rivals.

The latest update, released at about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, showed that 21,665 lawyers had voted out of 82,164 eligible voters, representing a turnout of 26.37 per cent.

Of the votes counted so far, Badejo-Okusanya garnered 9,930 votes (45.82 per cent), maintaining a clear advantage in the closely watched contest.

Her closest challenger, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, polled 6,708 votes (30.99 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, secured 5,021 votes (23.21 per cent).

With voting and collation still ongoing, the latest figures position Badejo-Okusanya as the clear frontrunner in one of the most competitive NBA presidential elections in recent years.

The election, however, got off to a turbulent start after the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) announced an indefinite delay to the commencement of electronic voting following a cyberattack on its voting platform.

Voting was originally scheduled to begin at midnight on Saturday but was suspended after the committee disclosed that the platform had come under attack by external actors in what it described as an attempt to compromise the electoral process.

In a statement signed by ECNBA Chairman, Aham Ejelam, SAN, and Secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa, Esq., the committee said the voting platform was subjected to a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” aimed at disrupting, sabotaging and undermining the election.

According to the committee, its cybersecurity team, working with the Election Voting Service Provider (EVSP), immediately activated emergency security protocols to contain the threat and restore the system.

The ECNBA assured members that no votes were recorded during the disruption and that electronic voting only commenced after the platform had been fully secured.

The incident heightened concerns among lawyers across the country, coming after weeks of debate over voter verification, the electronic voting process and the credibility of the election.

Despite the disruption, the electoral committee insisted that the process remained under its supervision, while candidates, their representatives and accredited observers continued to monitor proceedings from the designated election centre.

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