The legal battle over the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election has taken a new turn after details emerged on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, that Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, is seeking to have the poll nullified and a fresh election conducted.
Akangbe’s petition, dated July 27, 2026, was filed before the NBA National Officers’ Election Appeal Committee, where he alleged that the July 18 presidential election was riddled with widespread irregularities, including the failure of the electronic voting platform, the non-receipt of One-Time Passwords (OTPs) by eligible voters, the use of multiple voting websites and the extension of the voting period beyond the announced deadline.
The SAN is challenging the declaration of Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, as the winner of the election. Badejo-Okunsanya was declared elected by the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) after polling 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent of the total votes cast.
Akangbe secured 7,934 votes, representing 30.39 per cent, while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro polled 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent.
In the petition filed before the NBA National Officers’ Election Appeal Committee in Abuja, Akangbe argued that the election was invalid due to alleged non-compliance with the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended) and the revised guidelines issued by the ECNBA for the conduct of the 2026 national officers’ election.
A major plank of his petition is the alleged failure of the electronic voting platform shortly after voting commenced.
According to Akangbe, the voting website became inaccessible within minutes of the start of the election and remained down for more than seven hours.
He further claimed that the ECNBA later informed voters that the disruption was caused by a coordinated cyberattack, an explanation he said had not been independently verified.
Akangbe also alleged that the voting process was later migrated to another website that had neither been approved by the NBA National Executive Committee nor tested by the information technology representatives of the candidates.
He raised further concerns over the deployment of multiple voting websites and links during the election, arguing that the development created confusion among eligible voters.
The petitioner also claimed that the live election results displayed during voting showed a suspiciously predictable pattern in favour of the eventual winner.
According to him, an expert analysis suggested that the trend of vote increases could indicate possible pre-programming of the voting system. He is therefore seeking access to the backend of the electronic voting platform and other technical records to enable an independent audit.
Akangbe further alleged that thousands of eligible voters were disenfranchised after failing to receive the OTPs required to authenticate and cast their votes.
He stated that although 82,213 members were listed as eligible voters, only 26,106 eventually voted, leaving 56,107 eligible voters unable to participate.
According to him, more than 25,000 of the allegedly disenfranchised voters were expected to support his candidacy.
He also claimed that he was unable to cast his vote despite being one of the candidates, insisting that the disenfranchisement of eligible voters substantially affected the outcome of the election.
Another issue raised in the petition relates to the duration of the poll.
Akangbe argued that although voting was scheduled to begin at midnight on July 18 and end at 11:59 p.m. the same day, the exercise allegedly continued into the early hours of July 19 without adequate notice or explanation, a development he said undermined the transparency and credibility of the process.
He is also seeking access to extensive electronic records relating to the election, including the voters’ register, final result sheets, server and application logs, network traffic records, system backups, voter authentication records, voting timestamps, system error logs, OTP delivery records, security protocols, administrative access records and other technical data.
According to him, the documents are necessary to facilitate his appeal and enable a comprehensive audit of the election process.
Akangbe maintained that the alleged irregularities and breaches were substantial, systemic and significant enough to affect the outcome of the election, rendering the declared result incapable of being regarded as the product of a proper, regular and valid electoral process.
Among the reliefs sought, he is asking the Appeal Committee to declare that the election was marred by irregularities and breaches that compromised its credibility and integrity.
He is also seeking an order nullifying the election results, cancelling the poll, directing the NBA to conduct a fresh presidential election and setting aside the declaration of Badejo-Okunsanya as the winner.
The petition names the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association and Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, SAN, as respondents.
Filed on July 27, 2026, the petition is now before the NBA National Officers’ Election Appeal Committee for determination.