NBA Presidential Poll: Badejo-Okusanya leads as voting continues after cyberattack delay

The race for the presidency of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) remains closely contested, with Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya (SAN) currently leading after voting resumed on Saturday following an earlier delay caused by a cyberattack on the association’s electronic voting platform.

Voting officially commenced at 7:35 a.m. after the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) restored the electronic voting system and introduced additional security measures to safeguard the integrity of the election.

The election was originally scheduled to begin at 12:00 a.m., but the ECNBA postponed the exercise after revealing that the voting platform had come under a coordinated cyberattack.

According to early results displayed on the official voting dashboard, the presidential contest remains highly competitive, with none of the three candidates establishing a decisive lead.

As of the time of filing this report, 6,442 votes had been cast.

Badejo-Okusanya was in the lead with 2,592 votes (40.24%), followed by Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN) with 2,172 votes (33.72%), while Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) polled 1,678 votes (26.05%).

Despite leading the race, the result remains too close to call as thousands of eligible lawyers are still expected to vote before the close of polling.

In a statement announcing the resumption of the election, the ECNBA apologised to candidates, their agents, consultants, election observers and eligible voters for the earlier disruption, assuring members that the technical issues had been resolved.

The committee disclosed that, as part of enhanced security measures, the voting portal had been migrated to a new secured domain to protect the integrity of the electoral process.

It urged all eligible voters to use only the designated official voting portal and ignore any other website, link or communication directing them elsewhere.

The ECNBA also confirmed that voting would remain open for 24 hours from the official commencement time of 7:35 a.m. on Saturday, after which no further votes would be accepted.

The committee reaffirmed its commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election, thanking candidates, stakeholders and members for their patience and cooperation during the delay.

Earlier, the ECNBA revealed that the electronic voting platform had suffered what it described as a deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack intended to disrupt the 2026 NBA National Elections.

According to the committee, its cybersecurity team, working with the Election Voting Service Provider, activated emergency security protocols to neutralise the threat before restoring the system.

The 2026 NBA presidential election has attracted widespread attention following months of legal disputes, disagreements over zoning arrangements, allegations of bias and claims of external interference, making it one of the association’s most closely watched leadership contests in recent years.

Join Very Nigerian WhatsApp Channel
For Verified Breaking News, Exclusive Reports, Trending Stories, And Real-time Updates.
CLICk HERE TO JOIN!