A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and candidate in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, has petitioned the leadership of the association and several government agencies, alleging widespread irregularities in the conduct of the July 18 national officers’ election.
In a 19-page petition dated July 27, Akinboro called for urgent intervention, claiming the election was compromised by procedural flaws and institutional bias.
The petition was addressed to the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the General Council of the Bar, the NBA President, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Department of State Services (DSS).
Akinboro alleged that the election lacked transparency, particularly in the appointment of election service providers, and claimed that agreed voter authentication measures were not implemented.
He further alleged that technical glitches during the electronic voting process disenfranchised thousands of eligible members who were unable to cast their votes.
The senior lawyer also accused the NBA leadership of openly supporting the eventual winner of the election, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okunsanya, during the campaign period.
According to him, the association’s official platforms and activities were allegedly used to promote Badejo-Okunsanya’s candidacy, while other contestants were denied equal access and opportunities.
Akinboro further claimed that the ECNBA abandoned an earlier agreement reached with presidential candidates to adopt the National Identification Number (NIN) and registered telephone numbers as voter authentication tools.
Instead, he alleged, the electoral committee retained a system based on Supreme Court enrolment numbers and email-generated one-time passwords (OTPs), a decision he argued undermined the integrity and credibility of the election.
