In a fierce letter, two Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), have petitioned the Board of Trustee of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA accusing the President of the Association, Afam Osigwe, SAN, of persistent partisan conduct ahead of the 2026 national elections.
In a letter dated February 15, 2026, and made available to ASKLEGALPALACE correspondent, Aare Muyiwa Akinboro, SAN, and Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, called on the Board of Trustees (BOT) to urgently intervene to prevent what they described as a looming crisis capable of undermining confidence in the Association’s electoral process.
The SANs alleged that at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Maiduguri, Borno State, on February 5, 2026, the NBA President openly declared that he “cannot be neutral” in the forthcoming elections because he has a right to vote. According to the petitioners, the President defended his position when concerns were raised about the distribution of campaign materials at the NEC meeting.
They contended that the admission, made openly on the floor of the NEC, has created a grave crisis of confidence in the leadership of the Association and in the integrity of the upcoming elections.
The petition further traced what it described as a pattern of partisan conduct to the NBA Annual General Conference (AGC) 2025 in Enugu. The SANs alleged that during the official Health Walk and the “Unbarred Party,” platforms under the authority of the President were used in a manner that favoured a particular presidential aspirant.
They also accused the President of engaging in direct lobbying of members of the Bar, including Senior Advocates, and of attending branch activities where he allegedly canvassed support for the same aspirant. Reference was made to a recent Law Week event of the NBA Yola Branch, where he was said to have encouraged support for a preferred candidate.
The SANs claimed that staff of the NBA National Secretariat were used to distribute campaign materials, including umbrellas and face caps bearing the insignia of the same aspirant, across branches nationwide. They described this as a grave abuse of institutional resources funded by members of the Association.
Among other things the petition also referenced the earlier annulment of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) elections, which they described as part of a broader pattern of democratic disruption within the Association.
READ THE FULL LETTER BELOW
15 February 2026
The Chairman
Board of Trustees
Nigerian Bar Association
NBA House
Plot 1101 Muhammadu Buhari Way
Central Business District
Abuja
Dear Sir,
ADMISSION OF BIAS AND PERSISTENT PARTISAN CONDUCT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION – CALL FOR URGENT INTERVENTION
We write as Senior Advocates of Nigeria and members of the Nigerian Bar Association. We address this letter to the Board of Trustees in your capacity as custodians of the highest traditions of the legal profession and as elders whose intervention is urgently required to avert a looming crisis in the affairs of the Nigerian Bar Association.
At the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Maiduguri, Borno State, on 5th February 2026, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, SAN, made an admission that has created a grave crisis of confidence in the leadership of the Association and in the integrity of the forthcoming national elections.
We were both physically present in the hall when the President, responding to concerns raised by Mr. Adetunji Osho, SAN, regarding the open distribution of campaign materials at the NEC meeting, declared that he “cannot be neutral” because he has a voting right. He went further to defend his right to support any candidate of his choice and sought to justify his position by analogy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointing an INEC Chairman whilst intending to contest the 2027 presidential election.
This statement was not made privately. It was not made in jest. It was made openly, on the floor of the National Executive Council, before numerous witnesses, with full consciousness of its implications. The President did not merely admit bias. He defended it. He wrapped it in the language of democratic rights and attempted to normalise conduct that is fundamentally incompatible with his constitutional duties as President of the Association.
However, the Maiduguri NEC admission did not arise in a vacuum. It is the culmination of a pattern of partisan conduct that began months earlier and has steadily intensified.
Partisan conduct at the NBA AGC 2025, Enugu
The partisan activities of the President were first publicly manifested at the NBA Annual General Conference (AGC) 2025 in Enugu. During the official Health Walk organised as part of the Conference programme, the President used the platform of the NBA and the authority of his office to permit only one presidential aspirant to distribute campaign-branded face caps and stickers to lawyers participating in the Health Walk. No similar opportunity was extended to other aspirants.
The use of an official NBA event, organised under the authority of the President, as a campaign platform for a single aspirant represented a clear departure from the neutrality expected of the office. The Health Walk was an institutional event of the Association. It was not a campaign rally. Yet it was effectively converted into one for the benefit of a preferred aspirant.
Furthermore, during the official “Unbarred Party” at the same AGC; an event formally organised under the auspices of the NBA a large projection screen displayed a prominent advertisement featuring a large image of the same aspirant. This was not incidental. It was deliberate and conspicuous. An official social and networking event of the Association was utilised to amplify the campaign visibility of one aspirant to the exclusion of others.
These incidents at the AGC 2025 in Enugu were widely observed and discussed within the Bar. They marked the beginning of a visible alignment between the office of the President and a particular aspirant in the forthcoming elections.
Direct lobbying and personal campaigning by the President
Beyond the use of institutional platforms, the President has reportedly engaged in direct lobbying of members of the Bar. We are informed, and there are Senior Advocates of Nigeria prepared to testify to this, that the President has personally called lawyers, including Senior Advocates, urging them to vote for and support the same aspirant, to the exclusion of others.
The President has also attended various NBA Branch activities across the country where, leveraging the influence and authority of his office, he has openly encouraged lawyers to support the said aspirant. The most recent instance of such direct lobbying occurred at the just-concluded Law Week of the NBA Yola Branch, where the President used his presence and platform to canvass support for that aspirant.
This conduct goes beyond private political preference. It constitutes active campaigning by a sitting President of the Association during an ongoing electoral process over which he exercises institutional authority.
Use of the National Secretariat and organs of the NBA for campaign purposes
More troubling still is the active deployment of the machinery of the NBA in support of the same candidate. We have credible information that the National Secretariat staff have been used to distribute campaign materials to lawyers across various branches of the Association. Recently, umbrellas and face caps bearing the insignia of the same candidate were distributed in multiple NBA branches across the country.
The use of the National Secretariat funded by the membership of the Association to distribute campaign materials for a particular aspirant represents a grave abuse of institutional resources and a fundamental breach of neutrality.
Furthermore, it has been observed that organs of the NBA, including committees and administrative structures operating under the direction and supervision of the President, have been instructed or subtly guided to organise their programmes and activities in a manner calculated to project and favour the same presidential candidate.
When the entire institutional framework of the Association is perceived to be mobilised in favour of one aspirant, the electoral playing field is irreparably distorted.
The SPIDEL elections and pattern of democratic disruption
This incident at the Maiduguri NEC meeting does not stand in isolation. It is part of a troubling pattern.
The unilateral annulment of the NBA-SPIDEL elections is illustrative. The Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) had commenced an electoral process that was at an advanced stage, with some candidates reported to have emerged unopposed. That process was abruptly annulled by the President, and a caretaker committee was imposed to run the affairs of SPIDEL for the next two years.
This action was taken without transparent due process and without a formal adjudicatory framework addressing complaints from stakeholders. Egbe Amofin Oodua likened this development to the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Whether or not one agrees with that analogy, the damage to confidence in internal democracy within the NBA is undeniable.
Loss of confidence in the ECNBA and electoral process
There are serious questions about the independence of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) as presently constituted. Given the President’s open admission of bias, his sustained partisan activities since AGC 2025, his direct lobbying of members, and the deployment of institutional resources in favour of one aspirant, it is no longer possible to maintain confidence that the ECNBA can operate free from influence.
The President’s attempt to justify his conduct by comparing himself to the President of Nigeria appointing an INEC Chairman is misconceived. The NBA President is not a distant appointing authority. He is the head of the Association under whose watch the ECNBA is constituted and under whose leadership the electoral process is conducted. The proximity, influence, and institutional control he wields are direct and substantial.
No one disputes his right to vote. The issue is institutional neutrality. He cannot be both partisan advocate and overseer of the electoralq environment.
We therefore state clearly and unequivocally: we have lost all confidence in the ability of the current NBA President to superintend a free and fair election.
Demands and call for immediate intervention
In light of the foregoing, we respectfully call on the Board of Trustees to intervene urgently and decisively:
1.We call on Afam Osigwe, SAN, to resign immediately as President of the Nigerian Bar Association. Having openly declared that he cannot be neutral and having engaged in sustained partisan conduct, he has forfeited the moral authority required to continue in office during an election season.
2.We call for the immediate reconstitution of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, with clear safeguards guaranteeing independence, transparency, and neutrality.
3.We call for the establishment of an independent election oversight mechanism, free from the influence of the President or any partisan interests, to ensure that the forthcoming elections reflect the true will of the membership. Such a mechanism should include respected past Presidents of the Association and other elders of unquestioned integrity.
4.We call on the Board of Trustees to use your good offices to ensure that the forthcoming NBA elections are conducted under conditions that guarantee credibility, transparency, and fairness.
The NBA cannot credibly demand fairness and justice in society while tolerating conduct that undermines fairness within its own ranks.
The admission has been made. The pattern is evident. The institutional damage is significant. The time for corrective action is now.
We respectfully urge you to treat this matter with the urgency it deserves.
Given the grave nature of this matter and its implications for the integrity of the Association, we are compelled to make this letter public and to share it widely with members of the Bar.
Yours faithfully,
AARE MUYIWA AKINBORO, SAN
LATEEF OMOYEMI AKANGBE, SAN
CC:
The Chairman, Body of Benchers
The President, Nigerian Bar Association
All Past Presidents, Nigerian Bar Association
All Members of the National Executive Council
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