Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has warned that the Nigerian Bar Association risks suffering irreparable institutional damage if its leaders and members allow partisanship, personal ambition and self-interest to determine the conduct of the 2026 national officers’ election.
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Okutepa, who attended the NBA’s emergency National Executive Council meeting held virtually on Thursday, July 16, 2026, said the deliberations were combative, emotionally charged and largely driven by partisan considerations rather than an objective examination of the issues affecting the association.
Writing on X on Friday morning, the senior lawyer said the emergency meeting was convened by NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, with the 2026 national election as its sole agenda.
According to him, about 256 lawyers participated in the meeting, which eventually resolved that the election should proceed as scheduled on Saturday, July 18.
“Yesterday, the 16th day of July 2026, an emergency NEC meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association was called by the President of the NBA. The sole agenda was the NBA 2026 elections. About 256 lawyers attended the meeting. I attended the meeting,” he said.
Okutepa said the discussions were characterised by strong emotions and partisan positions, arguing that many of the contributions failed to address the substantive concerns surrounding the election.
“The deliberations at the meeting were combative, emotionally laden with partisan dispositions, and in the process, most contributions were not based on issues but on emotions, which beclouded the visions of most of those who made contributions to say that the NBA should proceed to hold elections on the 18th of July 2026,” he stated.
He maintained that the meeting appeared directed towards a predetermined conclusion rather than a balanced and mature consideration of all the issues confronting the association.
“What struck me and stood out in that meeting was that the meeting, as called, was emotionally charged and directed to focus in one direction,” he said.
According to him, the discussions did not reflect the objectivity, candour, honesty and sense of responsibility expected of lawyers, who should serve as examples to the wider society.
He added: “The meeting did not look at issues affecting the NBA with such maturity of objectivity, candour, honesty and reasonable purpose expected of legal practitioners who ought to be the light of society.”
The senior advocate urged NBA leaders and members to pursue reconciliation and institutional stability rather than deepen divisions within the profession.
“Let me say that the worst peace is better than the best war,” he said.
Okutepa described the association as standing at a critical point in its history and warned that the confidence of members in its leadership and electoral processes should not be taken for granted.
“In my honest and firm view, the Nigerian Bar Association stands at a critical juncture. Its strength has always rested on the confidence of its members, the integrity of its processes and the moral authority of its leadership. Those foundations must never be taken for granted,” he said.
He warned that failure by the association’s leadership to demonstrate fairness, courage and objectivity could result in damage from which the NBA might find it extremely difficult to recover.
“If our leaders fail to speak with objectivity, fairness and courage, and instead allow self-interest and partisanship to shape NBA elections, the association risks suffering damage from which recovery may be exceedingly difficult,” he stated.
Okutepa argued that institutions are damaged not only by wrongful conduct but also by the failure of those entrusted with leadership to speak against injustice.
“Institutions are weakened not only by wrongful acts, but also by the silence of those entrusted with their stewardship,” he said.
He pledged to continue speaking out despite what he described as the possibility of intimidation and persecution.
“I choose to speak out even in the face of intimidation and persecution. I stand with those who demand free, fair and credible elections in the NBA,” he said.
Okutepa said the NBA must remain an institution where principle takes precedence over personalities and where transparency is placed above temporary political convenience.
“The NBA must remain an institution where principle prevails over personalities, where transparency triumphs over expediency and where the collective interest of the legal profession is placed above individual ambitions,” he said.
He called for sober reflection, principled leadership and a renewed commitment to protecting the credibility, unity and independence of the association.
“This is the moment for thoughtful reflection, principled leadership and an unwavering commitment to preserving the credibility, unity and independence of our association. The future of the NBA depends on the choices we make today,” he added.
The senior lawyer urged members to choose integrity over partisanship, service over personal interest and the enduring values of the profession over temporary electoral victories.
“Let us choose integrity over partisanship, service over self-interest and the enduring values of the legal profession over fleeting electoral victories,” he said.
Okutepa expressed distress over the tenor of public commentary by some lawyers on the election, accusing members of allowing personal interests and hostility towards particular candidates to influence their positions.
“If we fail as lawyers to do what is right and avoid the current selfishness in the NBA, the NBA, in my view, may be destroyed completely,” he warned.
“What I see people write and say out of self-serving interests makes me weep for the NBA. Objectivity is gone. The NBA is no more what we know it for. Truth is far from us.”
He alleged that hatred and partisan analysis had become increasingly dominant in discussions about the election.
“Hatred based on self-serving partisan analysis has become the stock-in-trade in the profession,” he said.
Okutepa said several lawyers whom he previously believed would consistently defend justice and truth had failed to do so in their discussions of NBA politics.
“Many people who I thought would always stand for justice and truth have betrayed truth and justice in discussing NBA politics,” he stated.
He alleged that some members had identified irregularities but deliberately ignored them because of their hostility towards a particular candidate.
According to him, the candidate’s perceived offence was that he had been adopted by a professional regional or ethnic association whose selection process the presidential aspirants had submitted themselves to.
“People see wrongs but overlook them because of their hatred for a candidate whose offence is that he was adopted by his professional ethnic association, which all the candidates submitted themselves to and agreed to be bound by its decision,” he said.
Okutepa concluded that some lawyers now judged individuals based merely on their associations or perceived connections rather than the facts and principles involved.
“Some Nigerian lawyers now hate by connections. Sad, I must say,” he added.
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