The face-off between Egbe Amofin O’odua, the umbrella body of lawyers of Yoruba extraction, and the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) peaked at the weekend with the influential lawyers’ group asking the United States of America, United Kingdom, European Union, YIAGA Africa, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and other invited observer groups to steer clear of the forthcoming NBA elections.

The elections are scheduled to hold on Saturday, July 18, 2026, via electronic ballot. But controversies have since dogged the elections over allegations of bias by the NBA leadership in favour of a presidential candidate.

Egbe Amofin had berated NBA President, Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN for allegedly backing a presidential candidate, even as it lampooned the rejection of the Directions issued by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN. Osigwe denies the allegation.

Following an invitation extended to some countries and groups to monitor the Elections, Egbe states that the elections are fraught with irregularities, adding that “It is our considered position that the proposed election is being organised amidst allegations of non-compliance with the NBA Constitution and regulations relating to the electoral process.”

Continuing, Egbe wrote: “If these concerns are well founded, participation by international observers may inadvertently lend legitimacy to a process whose legal foundation remains disputed. We respectfully urge your Missions to independently ascertain the true legal status of the electoral process before accepting any invitation to observe it.”

The Egbe concluded by asking the entities to steer clear of the elections, saying: “We therefore respectfully urge your Missions to refrain from participating in, observing or otherwise associating with the proposed NBA election unless and until all outstanding legal issues have been conclusively resolved, the electoral process fully complies with every subsisting court order, and the electronic voting platform is subjected to an independent, transparent and credible audit capable of inspiring the confidence of the entire legal profession.”

A similar open letter was addressed to YIAGA AFRICA, TMG “and other organizations purportedly invited by the NBA President for observation of the proposed Nigerian Bar Association presidential election.”

Below is the text of the open letter to the US, EU and United Kingdom

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM ON THE PROPOSED OBSERVATION OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Your Excellencies,

We write on behalf of the leadership and members of the Egbe Amofin O’odua, being the umbrella body of all lawyers of Yoruba extraction from the South West Region of Nigeria, as well as the Yoruba speaking parts of Kwara and Kogi States respectively, to respectfully draw your attention to serious concerns surrounding the proposed observation of the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) national election.

We have become aware of the invitation extended to your respective Missions to observe the election. While election observation is a universally respected mechanism for promoting transparency and public confidence, we respectfully submit that the peculiar circumstances surrounding the proposed NBA election raise fundamental questions as to whether the process is capable of meaningful observation in the first place.

It is our considered position that the proposed election is being organised amidst allegations of non-compliance with the NBA Constitution and regulations relating to the electoral process. If these concerns are well founded, participation by international observers may inadvertently lend legitimacy to a process whose legal foundation remains disputed. We respectfully urge your Missions to independently ascertain the true legal status of the electoral process before accepting any invitation to observe it.

It is also curious and questionable that the President of the Nigerian Bar Association whose interference in the election process has been under serious scrutiny for exhibiting bias through open support for one of the Presidential candidates, unilaterally wrote to invite you to observe the purported NBA Election, whereas, he is not the Chairman of the Electoral Committee, that should ordinarily extend such invitation.

The NBA President is merely on a voyage of validity seeking. How does a President who has been relentlessly campaigning for one out of the three Presidential candidates think he can pretentiously use the invite of foreign missions as a decoy to deceive the world that he is neutral? The NBA President is irredeemably compromised as far as the 2026 NBA Election is concerned and no credible election can be organized under his watch.

Furthermore, the election is designed to be conducted entirely through an electronic voting platform. Unlike conventional elections with identifiable polling units, voting centres and physical accreditation processes, the integrity of an electronic election depends almost entirely on the credibility, security, independence and auditability of the underlying technology infrastructure.

Consequently, the physical presence of observers in a conference room or monitoring centre cannot provide meaningful oversight of the actual electoral process. Such observers would have no access to the backend systems, servers, source codes, security architecture, audit logs or data transmission protocols through which votes are cast, transmitted, processed and collated. Accordingly, they would be unable to independently verify whether the electronic voting process faithfully reflects the votes cast.

There are also serious concerns regarding the competence, independence and credibility of the Information Technology service provider engaged for the conduct of the election. These concerns have generated widespread apprehension among members of the Bar regarding the transparency and integrity of the proposed electronic voting process. We respectfully urge your Missions to satisfy themselves that any technology deployed for such an election has undergone credible independent security audits and enjoys the confidence of all major stakeholders.

Also of importance for mention, is the intervention of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation, by which he issued Directions which advised amongst others; that the election be postponed to a later date in August, that a more credible service provider be retained to design the voting platform, that National Identification Number (NIN) be used for the voting exercise to ensure transparency of the election, and that having addressed some of the concerns of the litigants, the lawsuits against the NBA, the NBA President and the Electoral Committee be withdrawn.

However, rather than appreciate the good intention of the HAGF, the NBA President attacked and sponsored denigrating publications against the person, and the revered office of the HAGF, in both electronic and print media platforms. There is no doubt that the NBA President is only desirous of crowning his preferred successor by whatever means possible, hence his refusal to accept the HAGF directions, which is aimed at ensuring a credible election and an amicable resolution of all issues surrounding the conduct of the election.

It is our respectful view that international election observation should never become a symbolic exercise or be deployed merely to create the appearance of credibility where substantial legal and procedural concerns remain unresolved. The reputation of respected democratic institutions such as the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom has been built upon unwavering commitment to the rule of law, due process, transparency and electoral integrity.

We therefore respectfully urge your Missions to refrain from participating in, observing or otherwise associating with the proposed NBA election unless and until all outstanding legal issues have been conclusively resolved, the electoral process fully complies with every subsisting court order, and the electronic voting platform is subjected to an independent, transparent and credible audit capable of inspiring the confidence of the entire legal profession.

This request is made in the interest of preserving the integrity of democratic institutions, protecting the credibility of international election observation, and ensuring that no respected international institution is inadvertently perceived as validating a process whose legality and integrity remain the subject of substantial controversy.

We trust that your Missions will carefully consider these concerns and act in a manner consistent with the democratic values and rule of law that your respective governments have consistently championed across the world.

Please accept the assurances of our esteemed regards.

Dated this 11th day of July, 2026.

Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, SAN
Chairman, Egbe Amofin O’odua

Prince Adetunji Osho, SAN
Secretary, Egbe Amofin O’odua

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