Prof. Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, has celebrated the emergence of Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, as the first elected female President of the Nigerian Bar Association, describing it in a Facebook post as “a monumental cause for celebration” and “a historic triumph that inspires millions of women in law across the continent,” while acknowledging the controversy that followed the July 2026 polls.
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The post has drawn a mixed response, with some commenters endorsing his position and others asking why he did not use the occasion to say something about how the electoral process should be improved, given that roughly half of registered lawyers were unable to vote.
Ojukwu framed his post as a question and answered it himself.
“Is being the elected first female President of NBA not a good cause for big celebration? It absolutely is a monumental cause for celebration!!! Breaking a 66-year-old barrier in Africa’s largest bar association is a historic triumph that inspires millions of women in law across the continent,” he wrote.
Ojukwu noted that the new leadership has drawn substantial attention both for its reform agenda and for the intense reactions that followed the election.
He quoted the President-elect’s stated priority: to “heal the hurt anyone has, and to just continue to ensure that we do things to make sure that the NBA continues to fulfil its role to society.”
He also noted that following an election impacted by a cyberattack and technical issues, she has already begun engaging in discussions on utilising robust technology to improve future voting processes.
Ojukwu referenced the President-elect’s meeting with First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, at which she pledged the NBA’s readiness to partner on providing pro bono legal services for vulnerable citizens.
Ojukwu did not omit the objections.
“While many celebrated her historic milestone, a few members expressed frustration over technical failures that disenfranchised voters, leading to calls for a total review of the exercise,” he wrote.
He noted that the President-elect addressed the controversy directly, “vowing to step down from office if any credible evidence proves the election was rigged,” in what he described as a notable Instagram broadcast.
He also recorded that support had poured in from organisations including Women in Business and Politics, which praised the victory as a massive breakthrough for female leadership.
“We wish Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, a successful tenure as President, Nigerian Bar Association,” Ojukwu concluded.
The post produced a divided response.
Some commenters supported Ojukwu’s position, agreeing that the historic significance of the first elected female president of Africa’s largest bar association deserves recognition on its own terms, independent of the disputes over the conduct of the poll.
Others took a different view, asking why a figure of Ojukwu’s standing, a professor of law and one of the most influential voices in Nigerian legal education, would post at length on the celebration without offering any prescription for the electoral process itself, given that approximately half of the registered lawyers, some 56,000 of the 82,213 eligible voters, did not cast a ballot.
The objection raised in the comments mirrors the wider argument that has developed across the profession since the election: whether the appropriate response to a historic milestone achieved through a flawed process is to celebrate the milestone, to remedy the process, or to insist that neither can properly be done without the other.
Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, polled 12,317 votes in the July 18, 2026, election, ahead of Lateef Akangbe, SAN, with 7,934 and Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, with 5,855, from a total of 26,106 votes cast out of 82,213 registered voters, a turnout of approximately 31.8 per cent.
She becomes the second woman to lead the association after Dame Priscilla Kuye, who assumed office in 1991, and the first to be elected to the office by direct vote. She is scheduled to be sworn in at the end of August.
Akangbe has filed a formal election petition before the NBA National Officers Election Appeal Committee. Former NBA President J.B. Daudu, SAN, has described the election as illegitimate and called for a re-election. Former President O.C.J. Okocha, SAN, has urged the Bar to move on and focus on reform. Chief J.S. Okutepa, SAN, has described the exercise as “a coronation.” Femi Falana, SAN, has argued that the failure was systemic and predictable.
The President-elect has maintained that no credible evidence of rigging has been presented, has committed to a post-election audit, and has stated that she would resign immediately if it were established that she would not have won but for manipulation.
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