Alleges candidate who did not submit expression of interest was smuggled into qualified list
A Nigerian legal practitioner, Tosan Barbara Onwubiko, Esq., Lead Partner of toSAN Legals, has filed a formal petition before the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), alleging grave constitutional breaches and irregularities in the conduct of the Electoral Committee of the NBA 2026 (ECNBA), and calling for the dissolution of the committee, a full audit of all qualified candidates, and the removal of a candidate she alleges was unlawfully included in the list of qualified aspirants for the office of Assistant General Secretary.
The petition, dated May 18, 2026, and stamped as received by the NBA on the same date, was addressed to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the NBA’s national secretariat at Plot 1101, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja. It raises multiple allegations of procedural violations rooted in specific provisions of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended 2025), and paints a picture of an electoral process that, according to the petitioner, has been compromised by the unlawful inclusion of non-compliant candidates, deliberate concealment of critical electoral information, and a pattern of irregularities linked to a key member of the ECNBA.
The central complaint in the petition concerns the alleged unlawful inclusion of one Magaji Tijjani as a qualified candidate for the office of Assistant General Secretary of the NBA.
According to Onwubiko, the ECNBA issued Notices No. 2 and No. 3 on February 11 and 12, 2026 respectively. Notice No. 2 mandated that all aspirants for national positions in the NBA 2026 elections shall submit a Letter of Expression of Interest on or before February 20, 2026, alongside other required documents. This requirement is grounded in Section 12, Part III, Second Schedule of the NBA Constitution 2015 (as amended 2025), which provides that every aspirant shall submit an Expression of Interest for the office he intends to occupy to the ECNBA.
The petitioner states that ECNBA Notice No. 5, which was issued after the deadline for submission of expressions of interest, listed six aspirants for the office of Assistant General Secretary who had complied with Notice No. 2. Magaji Tijjani’s name was not among the six.
However, when the ECNBA issued Notice No. 7b on May 6, 2026, listing qualified candidates for the same office, seven candidates appeared on the list including Magaji Tijjani, whose name had not appeared on the earlier Notice No. 5.
Onwubiko argues that the inclusion of Tijjani as a qualified candidate, despite his apparent non-compliance with the mandatory requirement of Notice No. 2 to submit an Expression of Interest by February 20, 2026, constitutes a breach of the NBA Constitution and the ECNBA’s own guidelines. In effect, the petitioner is alleging that a candidate who did not meet the basic entry requirement for the race was subsequently “smuggled” into the list of qualified candidates between the issuance of Notice No. 5 and Notice No. 7b.
The petition further alleges that the ECNBA deliberately concealed the names of nominators and seconders of the purported qualified candidates, as well as the names of disqualified aspirants information that the petitioner argues is required to be published under the NBA Constitution to enable members to exercise their right to challenge eligibility.
Section 8 of Part III, Second Schedule of the NBA Constitution requires the ECNBA to circulate a full list of properly nominated candidates to all Branches, Sections, and Fora, and to publish the same before the election. Onwubiko contends that the failure to disclose nominators, seconders, and disqualified aspirants renders it impossible for NBA members to exercise their constitutional right to challenge eligibility within the seven-day window provided after the publication of Notice No. 7b.
“This omission frustrates effective scrutiny and challenges the provisions under Sections 8, 10, 11, and 12 of Part III, Second Schedule of the NBA Constitution,” the petition states.
In what may be the most politically charged allegation in the petition, Onwubiko draws attention to the background of the ECNBA Secretary, Mr Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa, alleging a pattern of electoral manipulation that predates his current role.
The petition states that during the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) elections, Mr Nassarawa, who was then a member of the NBA-SPIDEL Election Committee, “facilitated actions that resulted in the removal of duly screened candidates and the inclusion of non-members, a disqualified aspirant, and persons who neither submitted nomination forms nor underwent screening.”
Onwubiko notes that Mr Nassarawa was subsequently appointed Secretary of the ECNBA the same body now accused of similar irregularities in the conduct of the 2026 national elections. The petitioner argues that this appointment, viewed alongside the current allegations, raises serious concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
Onwubiko has asked the Board of Trustees to grant five specific reliefs.
First, she seeks the nullification of the inclusion of Magaji Tijjani as a qualified candidate for the office of Assistant General Secretary in ECNBA Notice No. 7b, and his removal from the list of qualified candidates.
Second, she requests a full audit and verification of all qualified candidates against the requirements of ECNBA Notice No. 2 and Section 12, Part III, Second Schedule of the NBA Constitution.
Third, she seeks a directive for the immediate publication of the full list of nominators, seconders, and disqualified aspirants for all positions in the 2026 NBA National Elections.
Fourth, and most dramatically, she calls for the dissolution of the current ECNBA constituted under NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, and the reconstitution of a new Electoral Committee in strict compliance with the NBA Constitution to restore confidence in the electoral process.
Fifth, she seeks the commencement of an independent investigation into the allegations against the Secretary of the ECNBA, and appropriate disciplinary measures if the allegations are substantiated.
The petition strikes at the heart of the NBA’s internal democratic process at a critical moment. The 2026 NBA national elections, which will determine the next president and other national officers of the largest bar association in Africa, are approaching, and the integrity of the electoral committee responsible for conducting the elections is now being formally challenged.
If the Board of Trustees acts on the petition and finds the allegations substantiated, the consequences could be far-reaching potentially including the dissolution of the current ECNBA, the disqualification of candidates found to have been improperly included, and a delay in the election timetable while a new electoral committee is constituted and the qualification process is repeated.
On the other hand, if the Board of Trustees dismisses the petition or fails to act, Onwubiko’s concerns about the erosion of due process within the NBA’s electoral machinery will remain unaddressed, potentially undermining confidence in the outcome of the elections among a significant portion of the bar’s membership.
“The developments outlined above raise serious concerns about the current ECNBA’s ability to conduct a free, fair, and credible election. If these breaches are allowed to stand, the integrity of the Nigerian Bar Association and the legitimacy of its leadership will be compromised,” Onwubiko stated in the petition.
“I urge the Board of Trustees to act decisively and in accordance with the Constitution to protect the Association from further erosion of due process,” she concluded.
The petition was copied to the General Secretary of the NBA. Attached to the filing are copies of ECNBA Notice No. 2, ECNBA Notice No. 5, and ECNBA Notice No. 7b the three documents that form the evidentiary basis for the petitioner’s central allegation that a candidate was unlawfully included in the qualified list despite not complying with the mandatory expression of interest requirement.
Neither the ECNBA, Mr Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa, Magaji Tijjani, nor NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, has publicly responded to the petition as at the time of this report.
The petition was filed from the chambers of toSAN Legals, located at No. 8 Pretoria Close, Off Tunis Street, Zone 6, Wuse, Abuja.
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