The first runner up in the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association election and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN), Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, has criticised the conduct of the poll, describing it as “shambolic” and alleging widespread voter disenfranchisement.
In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Tuesday, Akangbe said the election failed to meet acceptable standards, arguing that the outcome has left the legal profession unable to claim the moral authority to criticise Nigeria’s electoral processes.
“It’s so unfortunate that we are where we are today, given the fact that we’re lawyers who are supposed to be the bastion of democracy. And to know that even we cannot organize ourselves properly is so unfortunate. I said the election was shambolic because of the electoral process.
“Let’s make no mistake: it’s not a case of low turnout. It was a case of disenfranchisement. I couldn’t vote myself. The other candidate couldn’t vote. I understand even the winner couldn’t vote, but nothing has been said about it.
“We’ve become a laughingstock to entire Nigeria. Politicians are looking at us, other professionals are looking at us and saying, ‘Look at these lawyers, they can’t even organize themselves. They can’t even conduct a credible election. Tomorrow, they want to talk about other associations or even the Nigerian state not being able to conduct a proper election.’ How do we have that moral ground to look INEC in the face when they know even we couldn’t do it properly? Charity begins at home, as they say,” he said.
Responding to questions about whether he recognises the declared winner as the legitimate NBA President, Akangbe maintained that a flawed electoral process could not produce a legitimate outcome.
“Well, a system that was not credible, that is illegitimate, has thrown her up. What she wants to do about it, what everyone wants to do about it, is up to her and the membership.”
He added that, if he were in the winner’s position, he would call for a fresh election to secure legitimacy, while criticising her for failing to acknowledge what he described as fundamental flaws in the electoral process.
“But if I were in her shoes, given the fact that I know out of 82,000 members, only 25,000 voted, that was a massive disenfranchisement. Not a low turnout—disenfranchisement. If I were in her shoes, and such a process threw me up, I would today call for a rerun because I want legitimacy over my presidency. I would ask for a rerun today, and that’s the proper thing I would have expected the ECNBA to do,” he added.
Criticising the declared winner’s response, Akangbe said she had failed to acknowledge the election’s alleged flaws, warning that without recognising them, meaningful electoral reforms would be unlikely.
“The most interesting thing is that she has granted interviews, she has spoken to people already on this, and she has not for once acknowledged the process was flawed. She hasn’t said it. She’s pretended as if it was a perfect system that threw her up. For me, that is very concerning because it shows that she doesn’t believe that the process needs to be overhauled. She doesn’t believe the process was broken. If you don’t think it’s broken, you’re not going to fix it. So that means she has never accepted or acknowledged the fact that the process that threw her up was flawed,” he noted.
Addressing reports of reconciliation efforts among the candidates, the SAN said he had no knowledge of a lawsuit reportedly filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking a rerun of the election. While describing the declared winner and the other candidates as friends, he stressed that his concerns were not personal but centred on reforming the NBA’s electoral system, which he said must be overhauled to restore credibility.
“I know nothing about this Abuja action, let me say. But let me give a background. We’re all members of a professional association. The truth of the matter is that the other candidates are my friends. She is my friend, the second runner-up is my friend. So it’s just unfortunate that we find ourselves here. But beyond that, we’re not talking about personalities; we’re talking about the system. I’m only interested in the system. How do we fix the system? Electoral reform, the electoral process—let’s talk about the process, the system. That is the concern here. But beyond that, I have no personal issues with her. She is my friend and remains my friend. But beyond that, we’re talking about the system that needs to be reformed and revamped. That is the issue here.” he maintained.
On allegations of political interference in the NBA election, Akangbe dismissed claims of external influence, saying he had seen no evidence that the Nigerian government or politicians manipulated the process.
“I hear that, but I don’t believe that. I believe that our problem is internal; it starts from within the Bar. I don’t have any evidence to suggest that there are political influences from the outside,” he insisted.
Instead, he argued that any undue influence originated from within the Bar itself and urged the association to focus on addressing its internal challenges rather than shifting blame.
“This system is something that I’ve been involved in over the years; I’ve been an active participant in the NBA over the years, and I know if you say to me that establishments or influences within the Bar exist, yes, I’ll be the first to say yes. I’ll admit that. But I don’t think the Nigerian state is involved in this process. Saying that is trying to do blame-shifting. I think we should look inward at where our problem is and try to fix that internally,” he argued.
On whether the NBA President, Afam Osigwe,
was among the internal forces influencing the association’s leadership, Akangbe answered in the affirmative, accusing him of failing to act as a “true democrat.” He alleged that the President opposed measures aimed at improving the election’s credibility, including NIN verification and a postponement to address technical concerns, while insisting the poll proceed despite widespread objections.
“Absolutely. He hasn’t carried himself in a way that you can say he is a true democrat. Absolutely. He is my friend, and I’ve been at the forefront of telling him, even while sitting in front of me across this table. I’ve been telling him that you have made a mockery of the entire system.
“Because I’ll tell you what happened: we had a meeting two days before in the presence of the Attorney-General—not as Attorney-General of Nigeria, but as Chairman of the General Council of the Bar—with the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, the body with the highest distinction in the Nigerian Bar Association, to find a way forward and make the entire thing credible and seamless. What was agreed—and it was even my proposal—was that let us use the NIN as a mode of identifying members for identification.
“The NBA President was the first to say no, NIN would not work because we can’t connect our system to the NIMC system. He said some women have not changed their names on the Supreme Court roll, so if you use NIN, they’ll be disenfranchised. No woman has come out to tell you that. You’re the one making excuses for them, finding more reasons and omissions why something proper should not be done when the statute says you should do that.
“This company we talked about—no proven track record, they don’t know them. Find a reputable company to conduct this election in the interest of the Bar. We had a meeting, you sat at the meeting, and everyone said at the meeting that given the fact that OTPs are to be sent by email and telephone, let members be sensitized and postpone the election for one week. You were at the meeting, you said nothing. The next day, you called another meeting, the National Executive Council meeting, telling them that the State was trying to hijack the process. You were at the meeting, you knew that no State was trying to hijack any process. You wanted to use NEC to do your bidding, to say the election must go on,” he alleged.
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