The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has given a sweeping account of his two-year stewardship at the helm of the Association, highlighting what he described as major gains in financial management, digital transformation, lawyer welfare, professional regulation, legal education, protection of lawyers and defence of the rule of law, while acknowledging that significant work remains for the incoming administration.
In his final Annual Report presented for the 2026 Annual General Meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Osigwe said his administration, which assumed office in August 2024, had sought to build a united, technologically driven, professionally relevant and financially responsible Bar that would remain fearless in defending constitutional democracy and the rule of law. He identified six pillars that guided the administration: defence of the rule of law and constitutional democracy; prudent financial management and institutional stewardship; institutional reform and professional regulation; lawyer welfare and economic empowerment; legal education, innovation and capacity building; and modernisation of the NBA.
According to him, the administration inherited challenges including delays in the production and distribution of NBA Stamps and Seals, manual and inefficient administrative processes, gaps in professional regulation, pressures on lawyer welfare and the need to modernise legal education and digital service delivery. He said the administration consequently chose to build “enduring institutions rather than transient achievements,” with reforms intended to serve future generations of lawyers.
Osigwe said the NBA remained vocal against what it regarded as executive excesses, unconstitutional actions, attacks on judicial independence and violations of human rights. He cited the Association’s opposition to the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspension of democratic institutions, maintaining that political disputes and executive-legislative disagreements could not justify the displacement of elected institutions. He said the NBA’s decision to relocate its 2025 Annual General Conference from Port Harcourt to Enugu was taken on principle and demonstrated that the Association would not sacrifice its constitutional convictions for administrative or financial convenience.
The outgoing NBA President also devoted considerable attention to the controversy surrounding the 2026 national officers’ election. According to the report, the process faced litigation at the Oyo State High Court, which had issued an ex parte interim order restraining election-related activities. The NBA appealed, and on July 14, 2026, the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, held that the High Court lacked jurisdiction and set aside the proceedings, including the restraining order.
Osigwe said the electoral process also faced challenges concerning the composition of the ECNBA, the appointment of the election service provider and the conduct of the election. He recalled that the NBA rejected purported directives attributed to the Attorney-General of the Federation seeking the disbandment of the ECNBA, postponement of the election, replacement of the service provider, creation of a caretaker committee, introduction of NIN verification and changes to the Association’s universal suffrage arrangement.
According to Osigwe, the NBA maintained that only its constitutionally recognised organs could determine whether the election should proceed or be postponed and that the Association was independent of the control of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The NBA also invited representatives of the European Union, United States Embassy, British High Commission, Yiaga Africa and the Transition Monitoring Group, among others, to observe the electronic voting process from the Central Election Control Room in Abuja, a move Osigwe said was intended to strengthen transparency and public confidence.
The President’s report states that Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya emerged as the 33rd President of the NBA with 12,317 votes, representing 47.18 per cent, ahead of Lateef Akangbe with 7,934 votes, or 30.39 per cent, and Olumuyiwa Akinboro with 5,855 votes, representing 22.43 per cent. The report records 26,106 votes from 82,172 registered voters, translating to a participation rate of 31.86 per cent.
Osigwe further alleged that the election survived attempts to undermine it, including a cyberattack that forced the ECNBA to rebuild and migrate its ICT 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 in the report, adding that “many went to great lengths to rubbish the association.”
He urged the winners to be magnanimous and those who lost to rally behind the incoming leadership, while acknowledging lessons from the process.
“The cyber-attack shows that we must do more in data protection,” he said. “Someday, the story will be told of how this election was almost sabotaged.”
Osigwe added: “Where we made mistakes, I believe my successor will correct them.”
On broader democratic advocacy, Osigwe recalled the NBA’s intervention ahead of the Osun governorship election, including engagements with INEC and security agencies. He said the Association demanded neutrality from electoral officials, security agencies, political actors and public officers and insisted that the only legitimate outcome was one reflecting the freely expressed will of voters. He also warned political actors against violence, saying no life should be lost in pursuit of political power.
The President also addressed the Supreme Court’s decision concerning direct appeals from the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to the Supreme Court. Following the judgment declaring Section 12(7) of the Legal Practitioners Act unconstitutional to the extent that it provided for a direct appeal to the apex court, the NBA proposed that the pending Legal Practitioners Amendment Bill be altered to provide for appeals from LPDC decisions to the Court of Appeal instead.
On justice administration, Osigwe said the NBA had campaigned against arbitrary arrests, prolonged pre-trial detention, torture and other violations of criminal justice laws, while advocating reasonable bail conditions and reminding courts that bail should secure attendance at trial rather than become an indirect form of punishment. The Association also condemned police brutality, extrajudicial killings, unlawful detention and other rights abuses, maintaining that effective policing and respect for human rights should reinforce rather than undermine each other.
The NBA also supported implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on financial autonomy for local governments and participated, through its Anti-Corruption Committee and engagements with the NFIU, SCUML, Federal Ministry of Justice, CBN, EFCC and other institutions, in Nigeria’s efforts concerning compliance with international anti-money laundering standards and removal from the FATF Grey List.
Osigwe identified technology as one of the central legacies of his administration, listing the Digital Annual Practice Licence, digital Letters of Good Standing, the NBA National Executive Council Digital Portal, Smart Identity Card, Digital Signature Studio and relaunched Digital Seal among the reforms introduced.
He said the Digital Annual Practice Licence replaced the paper-based licensing system with a platform enabling real-time verification of lawyers’ practising status, while the digitisation of Letters of Good Standing significantly reduced delays experienced by lawyers seeking foreign admissions, international employment or postgraduate opportunities.
The NEC Digital Portal, he said, brought registration, accreditation, attendance management, communications, documentation and record-keeping for NEC meetings onto a secure digital system, while the Smart Identity Card and Digital Signature Studio were designed to provide secure professional identification and electronic execution of legal documents.
Osigwe said the Association also encouraged lawyers to embrace artificial intelligence, legal technology, digital practice management tools and electronic legal research, arguing that the competitiveness of Nigerian lawyers would increasingly depend on their ability to adapt to technological developments.
On legal education and professional regulation, the outgoing President listed the introduction of the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Framework, amendment of the NBA Constitution, engagement on amendments to the Legal Practitioners Act, the 2026 NBA Legal Education Summit and development of the 2026 NBA Legal Education Standards among his administration’s achievements.
He said the MCPD framework was based on the principle that being called to the Bar should mark the beginning rather than the end of a lawyer’s professional education. NBA branches, sections, institutes, academic institutions and accredited organisations were enabled to provide continuing education under the NBA Institute of Continuing Legal Education, while thousands of lawyers reportedly benefited from free or subsidised training.
The constitutional amendments, according to him, included provisions for implementation of the 20 per cent Bar Practising Fee remittance to branches, campaign-finance regulation in NBA elections, formal mechanisms for resolving disputes among elected national officers and changes relating to elections into the offices of President and General Secretary.
On lawyer welfare, Osigwe disclosed that his administration established a dedicated ₦500 million Welfare and Life Assurance Fund, invested in fixed deposit, which he said had appreciated to more than ₦527 million.
He said the arrangement was designed to create a sustainable mechanism for paying benefits to families of deceased lawyers without exposing the NBA to unsustainable recurring insurance premiums.
The outgoing President further disclosed that over ₦140 million was paid as death benefits to beneficiaries of deceased lawyers across NBA branches during his administration, while approximately ₦24.289 million was approved and disbursed as medical assistance to lawyers facing critical health challenges.
He also cited the establishment of the Kanu Agabi, SAN Young Lawyers Co-Working Space at the National Secretariat, offering office accommodation, internet facilities, meeting rooms and a professional environment for young lawyers.
Osigwe said enforcement of the Legal Practitioners’ Remuneration Order 2023 remained a flagship welfare initiative, with the Association engaging courts, Attorneys-General, government agencies, corporations and NBA branches to promote observance of minimum professional fees. According to him, implementation of the Order in some jurisdictions had resulted in recovery and generation of professional fees “running into billions of naira” for lawyers.
Financial stewardship formed another major part of the report. Osigwe disclosed that ₦4,154,264,620 was invested in fixed-income instruments with what he described as reputable financial institutions.
He said the investments were structured to preserve the NBA’s principal while generating steady income and claimed that returns from the investment were sufficient to secure payment of staff salaries for 18 months without touching the principal.
He also said the administration commenced implementation of the 20 per cent Bar Practising Fee remittance to branches and maintained strict budgetary discipline and stronger financial oversight.
According to Osigwe, the 2025 NBA Annual General Conference generated and preserved more than ₦1 billion in savings and surplus, which his administration chose to preserve and strategically deploy rather than treat as an opportunity for increased expenditure.
The administration also sought to diversify the NBA’s revenue base. Osigwe disclosed that the two wings of the NBA National Secretariat at Oro-Ago Crescent, Garki, Abuja, were leased at ₦20 million annually per wing, creating a recurring non-subscription revenue stream.
He said NEC had also approved commercial leasing of three vacant floors of NBA House on Muhammadu Buhari Way, Abuja, although suitable tenants had not yet been secured.
On the Association’s landed assets, Osigwe said title perfection for the NBA property at Plot 1415, Oro-Ago Crescent, Garki II, Abuja, had been completed at the Abuja Geographic Information Systems, with the Deed of Assignment registered and title documents placed in the Association’s custody. He said work remained to complete title perfection for the National Secretariat property at Plot 1101, Muhammadu Buhari Way.
“Despite increasing operational costs and the implementation of numerous institutional reforms, the Association remained financially stable throughout the tenure of this administration,” Osigwe said, maintaining that the NBA was being handed over with stronger reserves, diversified income, improved asset management and stronger financial accountability.
On attacks against lawyers, the President said his administration established the NBA National Litigation Committee with structures across the six geopolitical zones to respond rapidly to unlawful arrest, detention, harassment, intimidation and assault of legal practitioners.
He said the Committee coordinated legal representation, monitored cases, engaged authorities and undertook strategic litigation, reiterating the administration’s principle that “an attack on one lawyer is an attack on the entire legal profession.”
The administration also deepened engagement with the NBA’s branches, with Osigwe saying national officers visited branches across the six geopolitical zones and participated in law weeks, lectures, Bar dinners, conferences and continuing legal education activities.
He said the administration pursued the philosophy of “One Bar,” insisting that differences in geography, ethnicity, religion, language, age and areas of practice should enrich rather than divide the profession.
As part of strengthening the National Secretariat, the administration also revised the NBA Employee Handbook and Standards of Work, introducing frameworks covering recruitment, training, performance appraisal, remuneration, benefits, leave, medical insurance, pensions, staff conduct, conflicts of interest, disciplinary processes, grievances and retirement.
Osigwe further highlighted international engagements with the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, International Bar Association, Justice Matters Conference in The Hague, Supreme Court of Liberia and ECOWAS Court of Justice.
He said the NBA strengthened relationships with United Nations agencies, UNICEF, the British High Commission, United States Embassy, The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law and other development partners.
One of the major partnerships, according to the report, was an agreement with UNICEF valued at approximately ₦120 million for programmes on child protection, juvenile justice, legal aid, capacity building and access to justice. Osigwe said the partnership reflected growing international confidence in the NBA as an institution capable of advancing justice-sector reform.
Reflecting on the administration, Osigwe acknowledged that no leadership could complete the work of institutional development and urged his successors to consolidate what had been achieved.
He thanked national officers, NEC members, the Association’s 141 branches, sections, fora, committees and institutes, the judiciary, Body of Benchers, Council of Legal Education, General Council of the Bar, Nigerian Law School, Senior Advocates, former NBA Presidents, development partners, staff and members for their support.
In a direct charge to the incoming administration, Osigwe urged the new leadership to strengthen the NBA’s institutions and independence, deepen existing reforms, prioritise lawyer welfare, preserve prudent financial management, sustain the digital transformation programme and continue defending the rule of law.
“The Nigerian Bar Association has always been greater than any individual, and its continued progress depends upon our collective willingness to place institutional interest above personal ambition,” he said.
In his final reflection, Osigwe called on lawyers to continue defending the Constitution, protecting the independence of the judiciary, upholding the dignity of the legal profession and preserving the unity of the Association under the “One Bar” philosophy.
“It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my professional life to serve as the 32nd President of the Nigerian Bar Association,” he said.
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