Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has been elected the 33rd president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), making her the first woman to lead the professional body in 35 years.
Badejo-Okusanya secured 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 percent of the 26,106 ballots recorded in the association’s 2026 national election.
Her closest challenger, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, received 7,934 votes, accounting for 30.39 percent, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, finished third with 5,855 votes or 22.43 percent.
The result gives Badejo-Okusanya a clear mandate to lead the association for the 2026–2028 term. She will succeed Afam Osigwe, SAN, who has headed the NBA since August 2024.
Her emergence makes her only the second female president in the association’s history. Priscilla Kuye became the first woman to occupy the position when she led the NBA between 1991 and 1992.
The outcome represents an important moment for women in Nigeria’s legal profession, particularly at a time when conversations around inclusion and representation are influencing leadership across major professional institutions.
However, Badejo-Okusanya maintained during the election that her candidacy was based on competence and leadership capacity rather than gender.
The election was conducted electronically and experienced delays following technical difficulties and a reported cyberattack.
Voting eventually concluded before the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association announced the final results at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja.
As president, Badejo-Okusanya will be expected to coordinate the association’s national leadership, represent Nigerian lawyers on professional and public-interest matters and strengthen engagement between the Bar, the judiciary and other arms of government.
Her administration will also inherit concerns surrounding judicial independence, delays in court proceedings, lawyers’ welfare, professional discipline and the growing influence of technology on legal practice.
With more than 47 percent of the votes cast, Badejo-Okusanya enters office with the largest individual share in a closely contested three-way election.
Her victory ends a prolonged absence of women from the NBA’s highest office and places her at the centre of efforts to shape the direction of Nigeria’s legal profession over the next two years.
