By Opeyemi Adelakun
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has taken an early lead in the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election after voting eventually commenced following hours of disruption caused by a coordinated cyberattack on the association’s electronic voting platform.
Live results released on the election portal showed Badejo-Okusanya polling 9,323 votes (45.43 per cent) to lead the race, ahead of Lateef Akangbe (SAN), who secured 6,385 votes (31.12 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) garnered 4,812 votes (23.45 per cent) from 20,520 votes counted.
If declared winner, Badejo-Okusanya will become only the second female President of the Nigerian Bar Association.
The election, initially scheduled to begin at midnight on Saturday, was delayed after the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) announced that its electronic voting platform had come under a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack.”
The committee subsequently suspended the commencement of voting while cybersecurity experts worked with the Election Voting Service Provider (EVSP) to neutralise the attack and restore the platform.
After the system was restored, voting commenced under close monitoring by the ECNBA, candidates, agents and accredited observers.
Despite the restoration, the election remained dogged by controversy.
Akangbe had earlier lodged an emergency protest, calling for the suspension of the election over alleged technical failures.
He claimed the voting portal experienced repeated disruptions, one-time passwords (OTPs) were delivered through email instead of SMS contrary to revised guidelines, while the presidential ballot displayed the photograph of only one candidate.
According to him, the glitches undermined the credibility and integrity of the electoral process.
The ECNBA, however, maintained that no vote was recorded before the platform was secured and assured members that every necessary measure had been taken to protect the integrity of the election.
As of the latest update, about 20,520 of the 82,164 registered voters had cast their ballots, representing a turnout of approximately 25 per cent, while voting remained ongoing.
The election is expected to produce the next national leadership of the NBA, with the ECNBA promising to keep members informed as the process progresses.
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