*Members Allege Electoral Committee Altered Voters’ Register To Favour A Candidate, Included Deceased Persons And Excluded Virtual Attendees
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A credibility crisis is brewing within the Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch, popularly known as the Unity Bar, following the release of a provisional voters register for the upcoming branch elections that has drawn accusations of manipulation, selective exclusion of lawyers who attended meetings virtually, and the inclusion of deceased persons on the list, with members alleging that the Electoral Committee has altered the register in a manner that favours a particular candidate.
The provisional register, obtained by TheNigeriaLawyer and titled “Unity Bar Master Members List (Alphabetical),” contains 239 names of members listed as eligible to vote in the forthcoming branch elections. However, members have raised serious concerns that the list does not include lawyers whose participation in branch meetings was recorded through virtual platforms, despite the branch historically recognising virtual attendance for meetings and official proceedings.
The controversy takes on added significance because it comes just days after NBA President Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN, issued a binding presidential directive on May 29, 2026, explicitly recognising virtual and hybrid meeting attendance for all purposes under the NBA Constitution, including electoral qualification, and prohibiting the disqualification, disenfranchisement, or exclusion of any member from branch elections solely on the ground that they attended meetings virtually rather than physically.
The provisional voters register released by the Unity Bar Electoral Committee lists 239 members in alphabetical order, ranging from A.M. Kayode at number 1 to Zainab Yusuf at number 239. The list includes several Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including Agada Elachi SAN, Chikaosolu Ojukwu SAN, Eko Ejembi Eko SAN, Kasim Paul SAN, Moses A. Ebute SAN, Paul Harris Ogbole SAN, Wendy Kuku SAN, and Yakubu Philemon SAN.
However, members have alleged that the register does not reflect the full membership of the branch that should be eligible to vote. Specifically, lawyers who attended branch meetings through virtual platforms but whose attendance was not recorded in the physical attendance register have been excluded from the voters list, effectively disenfranchising them from the upcoming elections.
The exclusion of virtual attendees is particularly contentious because the Unity Bar has historically recognised virtual attendance for its meetings and official proceedings. Members point out that the branch adopted hybrid meetings, counted virtual attendees for quorum purposes, adopted minutes based on proceedings that included virtual participants, and treated virtual attendance as valid for all administrative purposes.
The sudden decision to discount that same virtual attendance for the purpose of electoral qualification represents, in the view of aggrieved members, an inconsistency that raises questions about the Electoral Committee’s motives.
“How can you recognise my virtual attendance when you need quorum for your meetings, adopt minutes based on proceedings I participated in virtually, and then turn around and say that same attendance does not count when it is time for elections?” one member asked.
The controversy is compounded by the fact that NBA President Osigwe issued a comprehensive directive on May 29, 2026, just days before the release of the Unity Bar voters register, that directly addresses the virtual attendance question.
The presidential directive, issued pursuant to Section 9(5)(a)(iii) of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2025), states in unequivocal terms: “No Branch shall interpret the Constitution as restricting participation in Branch activities exclusively to physical attendance where the Branch permits, adopts, or recognises virtual or hybrid meetings as part of its operations.”
The directive further provides: “No member shall be disqualified, disenfranchised, denied voting rights, or excluded from contesting or participating in any Branch election solely on the ground that the member attended meetings virtually rather than physically, provided that such participation is verifiable through attendance records maintained by the Branch.”
Most pointedly, the directive states: “Any rule, guideline, policy, practice, or interpretation that recognises virtual attendance for meeting purposes but denies similar recognition in determining electoral qualification shall be inconsistent with the principles of fairness, inclusiveness, equal participation, and the spirit of the Constitution.”
The directive takes immediate effect and orders all branches to review their electoral guidelines to ensure conformity.
If the Unity Bar Electoral Committee released a voters register that excludes virtual attendees after the presidential directive was issued, the committee may be in direct contravention of a binding instruction from the NBA President.
Beyond the virtual attendance question, members have raised broader concerns about the accuracy and integrity of the voters register. The most serious allegation is that the register has been deliberately altered to favour a particular candidate in the upcoming branch elections.
While members who have raised this allegation have not publicly identified the candidate they believe is being favoured, the pattern of exclusion they describe, where lawyers who attended meetings virtually have been removed from the eligible voters list while those who attended physically remain, suggests a selective application of the attendance requirement that benefits candidates whose supporters are predominantly physical attendees while disadvantaging candidates whose support base includes a significant number of virtual participants.
Members have also raised alarm over the alleged inclusion of deceased persons on the voters register, a claim that, if substantiated, would represent a fundamental failure of the Electoral Committee’s verification process.
The inclusion of deceased persons on a voters list is not merely an administrative error. It creates the potential for vote manipulation, where ballots could theoretically be cast in the names of individuals who are no longer alive. Members have urged the Electoral Committee to undertake a comprehensive review to identify and remove any deceased persons from the register before the election proceeds.
Members challenging the exclusion of virtual attendees have grounded their arguments in the NBA Constitution itself, which provides for attendance at meetings through physical, virtual, or hybrid means.
Article 14(2)(b) of the Uniform Bye-Laws requires that to be eligible to vote, a member must have attended a minimum number of monthly meetings within the qualifying period, with attendance determined by reference to the “Attendance Register of the Branch.” Members argue that if the branch maintained electronic attendance records for virtual meetings, those records constitute part of the branch’s attendance register and must be accorded equal recognition.
The NBA President’s directive reinforced this interpretation, stating that “attendance at duly convened meetings through approved virtual platforms shall constitute valid attendance for all purposes recognised by the Constitution, Branch Bye-Laws, and Branch administrative processes.”
The Unity Bar controversy mirrors the situation that played out in the NBA Garki, Gwagwalada, Yola, and Kano branches, where the Branch Elections Appeals Committee (North) ruled on May 16, 2026, that only physical attendance counts towards electoral eligibility, leading to the disqualification of at least four aspirants. That ruling provoked fierce criticism from lawyers and ultimately prompted the presidential directive that was intended to settle the question across all branches.
The fact that a branch as prominent as the NBA Abuja Branch, the Unity Bar, may be applying the same restrictive interpretation of attendance requirements after the presidential directive was issued suggests that not all branches have complied with the directive, raising questions about the enforcement mechanism for presidential directives within the NBA’s governance structure.
Members of the Unity Bar have directed their attention toward the Electoral Committee and branch leadership with several specific demands.
First, they want a transparent and comprehensive review of the voters register to include all members whose virtual attendance at branch meetings is verifiable through electronic attendance records maintained by the branch.
Second, they want the immediate removal of any deceased persons from the register.
Third, they want the Electoral Committee to explain the basis on which virtual attendees were excluded from the register, particularly in light of the NBA President’s directive recognising virtual attendance for all purposes.
Fourth, they want assurance that the register has not been manipulated to favour any particular candidate, and that all eligible members, regardless of their mode of meeting attendance, will be afforded a fair opportunity to participate in the elections.
The crisis carries a particular irony for a branch that adopted the name “Unity Bar” as an expression of its commitment to inclusiveness and cohesion within the Abuja legal community. If the branch’s Electoral Committee is selectively excluding members based on their mode of attendance, applying different standards for meeting participation and electoral qualification, and potentially including ineligible persons while excluding eligible ones, the “Unity” in the branch’s name rings hollow.
As one member observed: “For a Branch known as the Unity Bar, the challenge will be measured not only by the conduct of the election, but by the extent to which every eligible member is afforded a fair opportunity to participate.”
The Electoral Committee of the NBA Abuja Branch has not publicly responded to the concerns raised by members as at the time of this report. The branch leadership has also not indicated whether the voters register will be revised in compliance with the NBA President’s directive on virtual attendance.
The situation highlights the broader challenge facing professional associations in Nigeria and globally: how to integrate technology into governance while ensuring uniform recognition of member participation across all platforms, and how to maintain the integrity of electoral processes in an era where the definition of “attendance” and “participation” extends beyond physical presence to include digital engagement.
The NBA Abuja Branch elections are expected to hold in the coming weeks. Whether the Electoral Committee will review the register, comply with the presidential directive, and address the allegations of manipulation before the elections proceed will determine whether the Unity Bar lives up to its name or joins the growing list of NBA branches where electoral processes have become sources of division rather than instruments of democratic renewal.
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