Crisis Brews in NBA as Yoruba Lawyers Accuse President of Interference in SPIDEL Election

• Warn NBA could lose credibility before 2026 election

Wale Igbintade

A major crisis is brewing in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as the Egbe Amofin O’odu’a, the Yoruba Lawyers’ Forum, has accused NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, of unilaterally annulling the SPIDEL election for alleged personal and partisan reasons.

The forum warned that the move casts serious doubts on the credibility of the 2026 NBA General Election, raising fears that the Bar’s leadership is on the brink of a historic internal crisis.

The forum described the action as a blatant abuse of office that undermines internal democracy and threatens to compromise the integrity of the Bar’s forthcoming national elections.

In a statement issued in Ibadan, Egbe Amofin said the SPIDEL Annual General Conference (AGC) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, was disrupted after nominations had concluded and some candidates had already emerged unopposed.

The statement was jointly signed by Adetunji Oso, SAN, Secretary of Egbe Amofin O’odu’a, and Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, SAN, Chairman of the Governing Council.

According to the forum, the NBA President terminated the election process and imposed a caretaker committee, reportedly handpicked by him, to run SPIDEL affairs for the next two years.

The association also alleged that the Secretary of the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) 2026, Mr. Aliyu Nasarawa, was used to execute what it described as a “hatchet job” on behalf of the President, raising serious concerns about the impartiality of the electoral body ahead of the 2026 NBA polls.

Egbe Amofin warned that the SPIDEL episode, dubbed “Afamgate”, has eroded the moral authority of the NBA leadership, arguing that a President who allegedly annuls a democratic process for personal gain cannot be trusted to supervise the national election.

The group further alleged that Osigwe had openly campaigned for a preferred candidate using NBA resources and had deliberately appointed loyalists to the electoral committee to engineer a predictable outcome.

Rejecting the NBA’s official response to the allegations, Egbe Amofin described it as weak and evasive, noting it failed to address whether any formal complaints prompted the annulment.

“The President acted whimsically to truncate the ambitions of perceived political opponents,” the statement said.

The Yoruba lawyers’ forum called for the immediate dissolution of the current ECNBA 2026, warning that failure to act could permanently damage the NBA’s reputation.

It also urged past Presidents and Trustees to intervene and rein in the partisanship allegedly exhibited by the current leadership.

Egbe Amofin expressed solidarity with Dr. Anne Agi, Bridget Udokwe, and Barbara Tosan Onwubiko, commending their courage in standing up for democratic principles within the Bar and pledging support to resist any attempt to undermine their rights or the popular will of NBA members.

The forum cautioned that the 2026 NBA election will be a defining moment and called on all stakeholders to ensure the process remains free, fair, and transparent.