Defeated Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Presidential candidate, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), has described the just concluded election as “shambolic” and a shame to the Bar, alleging that thousands of lawyers were disenfranchised by the failure of the electronic voting platform.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Akangbe thanked lawyers across the country for their determination to participate in the election despite widespread technical failures that left many unable to vote.
“Thank you to every lawyer who stayed awake for two nights to cast a single vote. You refreshed a broken portal at 1 AM, at 3 AM, at 5 AM. You set alarms. You tried on your phones, on your laptops, on borrowed devices.
According to him, while some lawyers eventually succeeded in casting their ballots, the majority were locked out by what he described as a platform that was incapable of handling the voting process.
“Some of you succeeded in voting. The vast majority of you did not. Some of you tried for hours and were locked out by a platform that was never built to carry the weight of your democratic will. You were disenfranchised not by choice but by infrastructure. Not by apathy but by failure.”
Akangbe commended all 141 branches of the NBA for mobilising members and supporting them , stating their commitment demonstrated the strength of the association despite the failures of the electoral process.
He, however, criticised the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), questioning its decision to move the National Executive Council (NEC)-approved election date from July 20 to July 18 without NEC approval.
“The question that must be asked, and answered, is a simple one: why the rush?” he queried.
The senior lawyer alleged that during a stakeholders’ meeting held on July 15, attended by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, it was agreed that the election should be postponed by one week to allow adequate sensitisation on the newly introduced SMS-based voting authentication system.
According to him, despite changing the verification method from email to SMS on July 16, the ECNBA insisted on conducting the election two days later, leaving over 82,000 accredited lawyers with little time to familiarise themselves with the new process.
Akangbe said the platform collapsed within the first hour of voting.
While the ECNBA blamed the disruption on a deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack, Akangbe argued that the explanation failed to address the underlying shortcomings of the platform.
“A cyberattack on an election platform is not an unforeseeable act of God. It is the single most predictable threat in any online election in 2026,” he said.
“This was not a cybersecurity failure but a capacity failure. It was foreseeable, foreseen, and warned about, in writing, since June.”
Akangbe further disclosed that he was unable to cast his own vote despite receiving more than five voting links from both the ECNBA Chairman and the NBA President.
“The Chairman of the ECNBA and the NBA President personally sent me over five separate links to access the voting portal. Not one of them worked,” he said.
“If the Chairman and the President of the Association cannot get the system to work for a candidate… what happened to the ordinary member in Jalingo or Ado-Ekiti who had no one highly placed to call?”
The SAN also questioned the voter turnout figures released by the ECNBA, noting that participation had dropped sharply compared to previous NBA elections.
He said voter turnout stood at 58.61 per cent in the 2022 election and 56.4 per cent in 2024 but fell to about 27 per cent in the 2026 exercise despite having 82,164 accredited voters.
“We have gone from nearly 60 per cent participation to 27 per cent in four years. This is a catastrophic regression,” he said.
Akangbe insisted that the low turnout was not the result of voter apathy but widespread disenfranchisement caused by the failed voting platform.
“That 27 per cent figure… does not reflect voter apathy. It reflects voter suppression,” he stated.
He also raised concerns over what he described as credible reports that some lawyers were able to cast multiple ballots on the platform.
“If the system permitted double voting, the integrity of every single ballot is in question,” he said, adding that “the platform was not fit for purpose, and the results it produced are tainted at source.”
Akangbe said he would not immediately challenge the outcome of the election, noting that he would first consult with his team and review all available legal options before deciding on his next course of action.
“I am reviewing all my options alongside my team. I will communicate a comprehensive, fully informed, and principled position on next steps shortly. When I do, it will be grounded in evidence, anchored in law, and driven by a single objective: the protection of the democratic rights of every member of this Association,” he said.