Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, SAN, said his administration resisted attempts to undermine the association’s independence and remained firm in defending constitutional democracy and the rule of law.
Osigwe made the declaration last Friday while presenting his final annual report at the just-concluded 2026 Annual General Meeting of the NBA in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said the administration, which assumed office in August 2024, confronted several institutional and professional challenges but succeeded in strengthening the NBA’s financial position, digital infrastructure, welfare schemes, professional regulation and legal education.
According to him, the administration also defended the independence of the judiciary, challenged executive excesses and protected lawyers subjected to harassment and unlawful arrest in the course of their professional duties.
Osigwe said one of the defining moments of his tenure was the NBA’s opposition to the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of democratically elected institutions.
He said the NBA maintained that political disagreements and legislative or executive conflicts did not provide sufficient constitutional grounds to suspend elected governments or displace democratic institutions.
“We made it abundantly clear that constitutional democracy cannot be preserved through executive fiat, and that disagreements within the political process must always be resolved through constitutionally recognised institutions and legal mechanisms rather than extraordinary executive intervention,” he said.
He said the NBA’s decision to relocate its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu was a demonstration of its commitment to constitutional principles.
Osigwe also highlighted the legal battle over the 2026 NBA elections, saying the association successfully challenged proceedings before the Oyo State High Court, which had sought to restrain the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association from conducting the elections.
He said the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, on July 14, 2026, unanimously held that the Oyo State High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and set aside the proceedings, including the interim order restraining the ECNBA from conducting the election.
He said the decision cleared the way for the election to proceed.
The former NBA president also disclosed that the association rejected a purported directive attributed to the Attorney-General of the Federation seeking to disband the ECNBA and postpone the election.
According to Osigwe, the directive sought, among other things, the replacement of the election service provider, the establishment of a caretaker committee to conduct the election, the introduction of National Identification Number verification into the voter database, and a review of the NBA Constitution to alter its universal suffrage system.
He said the NBA rejected the directive as unconstitutional and beyond the powers of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“We insisted that only the NBA’s constitutionally recognised organs have the authority to determine the conduct or postponement of the exercise,” Osigwe said.
He added that the NBA was an independent body not under the control of the Attorney-General and that the Legal Practitioners Act limited the AGF’s powers to intervene in its affairs.
Osigwe said the Court of Appeal subsequently agreed with the NBA’s position on the AGF’s power to issue such a directive in the circumstances.
He further said the NBA invited domestic and international observers, including representatives of the European Union, the United States Embassy, the British High Commission, Yiaga Africa, and the Transition Monitoring Group, to observe the electronic voting process.
On the election, Osigwe said Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya emerged as the 33rd president of the NBA, polling 12,317 votes to defeat Lateef Akangbe, who secured 7,934 votes, while Olumuyiwa Akinboro polled 5,855 votes.
He said the election recorded 26,106 votes from 82,172 registered voters, representing a 31.86 per cent participation rate.
Osigwe said the election survived attempts to undermine the process, including a cyberattack which forced the ECNBA to rebuild and migrate its information and communication technology infrastructure to a more secure server.
“Our colleagues planned to truncate the election, but we stood firm. Every effort to derail this process failed,” he said.
Osigwe urged the incoming administration to be magnanimous in victory and called on those who lost the election to support the new leadership.
He also warned that the cyberattack demonstrated the need for stronger data protection within the association.
Osigwe listed the NBA’s digital transformation as one of the major achievements of his administration.
He said the association introduced the Digital Annual Practice Licence, digitised the issuance of Letters of Good Standing, established the NBA National Executive Council Digital Portal, launched the NBA Smart Identity Card, relaunched the NBA Digital Seal and established the NBA Digital Signature Studio.
According to him, the reforms reduced administrative bottlenecks, improved regulatory compliance and strengthened the verification of lawyers’ practising status.
He said the digital transformation was part of the administration’s effort to reposition the NBA as a modern, technology-driven professional body.
