What began as the distribution of bottled water bearing the image and logo of Oyinkasola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, at the quarterly National Executive Council meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association in Maiduguri, Borno State, has escalated into one of the most heated pre-election controversies in recent NBA history, drawing sharp reactions from lawyers across the country and raising fundamental questions about presidential neutrality, campaign ethics, and the enforceability of the NBA’s newly amended constitution, Even though Oyinkasola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has not yet become a candidate for the election, as she has not submitted her expression of interest form…
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/SADR.jpeg")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/TheNigerialawyer-WhatsApp-Channel1.jpg")
The Incident
During the NEC meeting, a member raised an objection to the distribution of bottled water branded with the image and campaign logo of Badejo-Okusanya, one of three aspirants for the office of NBA President in the July 2026 election. Campaign banners associated with her candidacy were also reported to have flooded the meeting hall. The combination of branded items and campaign visibility at an official NBA gathering triggered immediate protest from members who viewed it as evidence of preferential treatment for a particular candidate at an institutional event.
The President’s Response
What followed proved even more controversial than the branded water itself. NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, responding to the concerns, stated that no law, rule, or provision of the NBA Constitution prevents him from supporting any candidate of his choice, and that exercising such support falls within his personal discretion as a voting member of the Association. He drew an analogy with national politics, noting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, as Chairman of INEC, yet is expected to contest the 2027 presidential election to be conducted by the same commission headed by his appointee.
Osigwe assured NEC members that his personal discretion would not compromise the integrity of the electoral process and pledged a free, fair, and transparent election. Following his remarks, the Chairman of Egbe Amofin Oodua, Aare Isiaka Olagunju, SAN, sought and received assurances that all aspirants would be given a level playing field.
The incident and the President’s response have generated intense debate across legal circles, WhatsApp platforms, and social media, with opinions sharply divided.
Those Critical of the President
Ucheoma Chisorom Nwogu, a lawyer, published a strongly worded post declaring that “the NBA President has a presidential candidate in the upcoming election” and that “he is openly supporting the candidate and vowed not to be neutral.” Nwogu urged voters to reject the candidate supported by the President, arguing that the current administration had neglected the welfare of Nigerian lawyers, particularly young lawyers. She warned that allowing the President’s preferred candidate to emerge would amount to “traveling a crooked road” a third time, drawing a line from the leadership style of the previous NBA President through the current one to the candidate allegedly being backed.
Another lawyer raised concerns about the President using the NBA platform to promote a preferred candidate, calling on lawyers to resist what they described as an attempt to create a “godfather” and ‘Third-Term’ Proxy system in NBA elections — a phenomenon borrowed from partisan politics that many at the Bar view as antithetical to the Association’s professional character.
Barbara Tosan Onwubiko, a lawyer, offered a more measured critique while drawing an unfavourable comparison with the previous administration. She recalled that during the Y.C. Maikyau SAN presidency, the then-President maintained such careful neutrality that “discerning his preferred candidate was quite difficult,” even though one of the aspirants at the time was a member of his own branch. She argued that upon assuming the office of NBA President, one should “put sentiments aside and refrain from openly supporting any presidential candidate or engage in actions that may cause the President to lose credibility.”
A particularly pointed critique came from a lawyer who expressed astonishment at the President’s Tinubu-INEC analogy, calling it an unfortunate statement for a sitting NBA President to make at NEC. The lawyer noted that while none of the current presidential aspirants had supported Osigwe during his own campaign, his status as President demands institutional neutrality regardless of personal sentiments.
Those Defending the President
The defence was equally forceful. Hamza Garba Umaru, Chairman of the NBA Dutse Branch and a member of NEC who was present at the meeting, directly challenged the accounts circulating online. He stated categorically that “at no point during the meeting did the NBA President state, imply, or suggest that he was supporting any candidate, nor did he say he had vowed not to be neutral.” He pointed out that Ucheoma Chisorom Nwogu is not a member of NEC and therefore could not have attended the meeting, meaning her commentary was “at best, second-hand speculation.” He also noted her well-documented support for Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, suggesting her post was “a partisan interpretation designed to fit a pre-existing narrative.”
Haruna Favour, Chairman of the NBA Keffi Branch, similarly denied that the President declared support for any aspirant. He clarified that the branded water was shared by “a well-wisher” without any reference to the President, and that the President merely emphasized his personal right as a voting member to cast his vote for a candidate of his choice at the appropriate time. He described the insinuations of partisanship as “baseless, empty, hollow and bereft of substance.”
The Call for Balance
Perhaps the most comprehensive intervention came from Kenechukwu Agwu, an Abuja-based lawyer, who called on all aspirants and commentators to rise above selective outrage. Agwu pointed out that the distribution of campaign materials at NBA events is not new to this election cycle. He noted that Aare Muyiwa Akinboro, SAN, had distributed branded bags to NEC members at the very first NEC meeting of the current administration in Enugu, that Badejo-Okusanya had distributed souvenirs at other events, and that Yemi Akangbe, SAN, along with other aspirants, had engaged in similar campaign spending for visibility. He argued that singling out one candidate while ignoring identical conduct by others amounts to “selective storytelling” rather than genuine advocacy for fairness.
Agwu’s deeper point, however, went beyond the immediate controversy. He argued that the real issue is not who branded water or bags, but why monetisation has become so central to NBA elections in the first place. He commended the constitutional amendments adopted at the 2025 Enugu AGM for addressing this systemic problem and called on the ECNBA to issue detailed enforcement guidelines.
What the NBA Constitution Says
The controversy has brought the newly amended NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended in 2025) into sharp focus, particularly the anti-monetisation provisions in Schedule Two, Part III, which NBA President Osigwe himself had highlighted in his report to the same NEC meeting.
These provisions are sweeping in their scope. They prohibit all branches, sections, and fora from soliciting contributions, donations, or sponsorship from candidates during the election year. Any aspirant or candidate who makes or publishes derogatory material against an opponent faces disqualification. Any form of donations and philanthropic gestures by candidates during the election year is prohibited, with disqualification as the consequence. Financial inducement, including paying practising fees or branch dues for other lawyers to curry favour, is expressly banned. No branch, section, or forum may invite aspirants to sponsor their events, and no branch may endorse any candidate — with violations constituting professional misconduct referable to the Disciplinary Committee.
The constitution also expressly limits the ECNBA’s disqualification power to the grounds specifically contained in the constitution, providing a safeguard against arbitrary action while simultaneously making the enumerated grounds binding and enforceable.
The critical question that emerges is whether the distribution of branded bottled water and campaign materials at an official NEC meeting falls within the prohibited conduct under these provisions. The constitution prohibits “any form of donations and philanthropic gestures by candidates” during the election year. Branded bottled water bearing a candidate’s image, distributed at an official gathering, could reasonably be interpreted as falling within this prohibition — it is, at minimum, a philanthropic gesture with an obvious campaign purpose. If the ECNBA takes this view, the consequences under the constitution are clear: disqualification.
However, the defence that the water was provided by a “well-wisher” rather than the candidate herself introduces a factual question about attribution. The constitution targets conduct by “candidates and their supporters,” which could extend liability beyond the candidate personally. But establishing that the distribution was authorised or facilitated by the candidate or her campaign would be a necessary factual determination.
The Bigger Picture
Beyond the immediate controversy, this episode exposes a deeper tension within the NBA. The Association has historically struggled with the monetisation of its elections, and the 2025 constitutional amendments were a direct attempt to address this. Yet barely months after those amendments were adopted, the same patterns appear to be repeating — branded items at official events, elaborate campaign spending, and accusations of institutional bias.
The three candidates in the race occupy distinct political positions within the Association. Yemi Akangbe, SAN, a former Chairman of the NBA Lagos Branch, is widely seen as the most independent candidate without institutional backing. Oyinkasola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, is the candidate most frequently associated with the current NBA leadership, whether or not that association is formally acknowledged. Aare Muyiwa Akinboro, SAN, a former General Secretary, runs as the candidate of Egbe Amofin Oodua. Each camp views the others through the lens of advantage and disadvantage, which explains the intensity of the reactions.
The ECNBA, now constituted with its full complement of seven members under the chairmanship of Aham Eke-Ejelam, SAN, faces an early and consequential test. How it handles complaints arising from this incident — and whether it issues clear, enforceable guidelines giving practical effect to the constitutional provisions — will set the tone for the entire election. If the anti-monetisation provisions are enforced rigorously and even-handedly, the 2026 election could mark a genuine turning point for the NBA. If they are applied selectively or not at all, the constitutional amendments will have been an exercise in futility.
As Kenechukwu Agwu put it: “This election should be a contest of vision, not vending. The time has come for all aspirants to truly raise the Bar.”
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR LAWYERS: A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Reimagine your practice with the power of AI “...this is the only Nigerian book I know of on the topic.” — Ohio Books Ltd
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe, Esq., ACIArb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
Bonus:
Get a FREE eBook titled “How to Use the AI in Legalpedia and Law Pavilion” with every purchase.
How to Order: 📞 Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878 📧 Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com 🌐 Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access directly online at: https://selar.com/prv626
________________________________________________________________________ The Law And Practice Of Redundancy In Nigeria: A Practitioner’s Guide, Authored By A Labour & Employment Law Expert Bimbo Atilola
_______________________________________________________________________
New Year Promo: Get Five Maritime Law Books For N150,000 — 63% Discount
The promotion, which commenced on January 8 and runs until February 8, 2026, offers five core maritime law books authored by Dr. Emeka Akabogu, SAN, ordinarily valued at N405,000, for just N150,000 — a 63% discount.
Interested buyers can place their orders through the following channels:
Phone: 0704 329 3271
Online Store: https://paystack.shop/aa-bookstore
Website: www.akabogulaw.com
______________________________________________________________________
