The Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) have approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking it to stop the planned swearing-in of the President-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, and other newly elected national officers.
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In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1471/2026, ALDRAP also listed the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as one of the respondents.
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The association is seeking an order preventing the NBA, its National Executive Committee, officials and anyone acting on its behalf from swearing in Badejo-Okusanya or any other elected national officer until the court delivers judgment or issues further directives on the matter.
LIST OF APPLICATIONS FOR REGULARISATION OF AREA COUNCIL LAND DOCUMENTS NULLIFIED/CANCELLED BY THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF FCT
ALDRAP also asked the court to maintain the present leadership arrangement within the NBA until the case is fully determined.
The association said its application is based on an existing lawsuit challenging the legality and constitutionality of the 2026 NBA election. According to ALDRAP, the case raises issues including alleged voter disenfranchisement, technical problems with the electronic voting platform, claims of failure to follow the election timetable approved by the NBA National Executive Committee, and questions relating to Section 134(2) of the 1999 Constitution.
It argued that the individuals and organisations it is seeking to add to the case are necessary parties whose participation would help the court fully determine the issues surrounding the disputed election and the planned change in leadership.
ALDRAP Administrative Secretary, Jesse Amuga, also questioned the conduct of the election. He noted that none of the local or international observers who monitored the exercise had released any report on the process, a situation he said had raised further concerns about the credibility of the election.
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According to Amuga, no observer group had publicly confirmed the performance of the electronic voting system used during the election. He claimed that the silence of organisations such as Amnesty International, YIAGA and the Transition Monitoring Group had fuelled doubts about the process.
Before filing the latest application, ALDRAP had already asked the court to stop the Attorney-General of the Federation from interfering in the NBA election. It also sought an order preventing both the AGF and the NBA from interfering with the conferment of the Blue Silks rank of Senior Counsel of Nigeria, which the association introduced as an alternative title for non-litigation lawyers.
The group had equally requested that the Nigerian Law Society and the Law Society of Lesotho be appointed as independent observers for the NBA election.
In its latest filing, ALDRAP asked the court to include NBA President-elect Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya and several other individuals and organisations as parties in the case.
Those listed include Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, Lateef Akangbe, SAN, Amnesty International’s Nigeria office or its representative, YIAGA and the Transition Monitoring Group.
Badejo-Okusanya emerged winner of the disputed NBA presidential election after polling 12,317 votes to defeat Lateef Akangbe, SAN, and Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN. She is expected to be sworn in on August 21, 2026, when she will succeed the outgoing NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN.
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