Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya makes history with her election as President of the Nigerian Bar Association
Congratulations have flowed for Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya SAN, who emerged victorious on Sunday from a fiercely contested three-way election in which she defeated fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro.
The historic election of Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya SAN as President of the Nigerian Bar Association sends a powerful message to every girl and woman across Nigeria that leadership has no gender, and that barriers which stood for generations can indeed be broken, said Senator Natasha H Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of many people in the legal and broader communities to celebrate Sunday’s results.
Following a fiercely contested three-way election for the Presidency of the largest Bar Association in Africa, and voting from Saturday morning to Sunday morning, Badejo-Okusanya defeated fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, securing 12,317 votes out of 26,106 ballots cast. Akangbe came second with 7,934 votes, Akinboro received 5,855 votes.
The voting period had opened several hours late following what was described by the Electoral Committee as a coordinated cyberattack on its e-voting platform.
A disputes lawyer, arbitrator, and public policy professional, Badejo-Okusanya SAN is a founding partner at ALP NG & Co, a premier Africa-focused commercial law firm based in Lagos. Before launching her own firm in 2017, she began her legal career at leading African law firm Olaniwun Ajayi, then served seven years as a Senior Special Assistant then General Counsel to the Governor of Lagos State.
“It is now time to rebuild the association to begin the process of reconciliation and reaching out and working together, because team work makes the dream work,” said Badejo-Okusanya SAN to Nigerian television following her decisive victory. She had run her election campaign on the slogan of ‘A Bolder Bar That Works for Everyone’.
“We need to come together. I will be President to all members, both my most ardent supporters, and my most strident critics. I will be President to them all. I hope to have the graciousness to be just that, and to move the association forward.”
She becomes the second woman to ever lead the Nigerian Bar in its 66-year history as an independent professional body (and 93-year history since originally founded), and the first woman ever elected to be President. Previously, Dame Priscilla Kuye served as President of the Nigerian Bar in 1991-1992, having been elevated from Vice-President when then-President Chief Clement Akpamgbo, SAN was appointed Attorney-General and Minister of Justice during his term leading the Nigerian Bar.
“This remarkable achievement is not only a personal victory but a defining moment for the legal profession and for Nigeria,” said Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, a fellow lawyer, following the announcement of the election results. “It affirms that competence, excellence, resilience, and character will always find their rightful place… As a fellow woman in public service, I celebrate this milestone with great pride and optimism. May your tenure strengthen the Bar, uphold the rule of law, and inspire a new generation of women to aspire, lead, and serve with distinction.”
Badejo-Okusanya SAN acknowledged the historic nature of her victory, but said she’d deliberately run her campaign based on capacity, not gender. She’d wanted voters to see a capable lawyer, first of all. Looking to the future of the Nigerian Bar, “we want to get to the point where gender is no longer part of the conversation”.
Alongside Badejo-Okusanya being elected the new President of the Nigerian Bar Association for the 2026-2028 term, several other national officer positions and representatives for the General Council of the Bar were elected, including:
Chief Oghenero Okoro as First Vice-President;
Egya Nuhu John and Pepple Irene as Second and Third Vice Presidents;
Afam O. Okeke as General Secretary;
Aghogho Gladys Okpomor as Assistant General Secretary;
Esther Ifeoma Jimoh as Treasurer;
Audrey Chinelo Ofoegbunam as Welfare Secretary;
Dr Prince I. Azubuike as Publicity Secretary;
Hadiza Nasir Ahmad as Assistant Publicity Secretary; and
Chidi Betsy Nnaji as Eastern Zone Representative, Rotimi Komolafe as Western Zone Representative, and Huwaila Muhammad Ibrahim as Northern Zone Representative
Nigerian legal luminary Konyin Ajayi SAN said today that now the dust was settling on an election that “had its glitches and moments of controversy”, it was time to look beyond the contest to the greater task of leadership. Badejo-Okusanya SAN made history, but history rarely remembers those who merely occupied office, noted Ajayi. “It remembers those who used it to make a difference. As such, the work begins now, for leadership is not measured by the victory won, but by the legacy built.”
The challenges facing the Nigerian Bar extend beyond the legal profession, continued Ajayi, and now was a moment to be bold in defending the rule of law wherever it is threatened; in demanding accountability from those entrusted with public office; in championing constitutionalism, access to justice and judicial reform; and in ensuring that the Nigerian Bar Association remains the conscience of Nigeria.
“The confidence reposed in Mrs Badejo-Okusanya, SAN gives me hope that we can look forward to a better Bar — one that serves its members more effectively, improves the living and working conditions of lawyers, especially our younger colleagues, and restores even greater pride in our noble profession.”
