By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of meddling in the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, national election.
Abubakar’s accusation is coming amidst alleged arrest of the Managing Director MD of the service provider for Saturday’s NBA election by the Department of State Service, DSS, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos.
The Source reports that the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, had, on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, cleared the path for the NBA to go ahead with its proposed election of new national officers following its nullification of an earlier ruling by an Oyo State High Court halting the said poll.
The trial Court had, while delivering judgment on a motion filed by the Egbe Omofin group, also disbanded the NBA electoral committee – ECNBA.
The group which had, in its motion ex-parte, sought an order of the Court to impose a consensus NBA Presidential Candidate during the election, is alleged to be enjoying the backing of the Presidency.
The Attorney -General of the Federation AGF and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, who had, last week, also sought to controversially abort Saturday’s election, as well as the disbandment of the Electoral Committee in an apparent support of the Egbe Omofin Group,is alleged to be projecting the Presidency’s preferred candidate for the NBA National Presidency’s job.
However, the actions of both the AGF and the Egbe Omofin group have so far been rebuffed by the national leadership of the NBA, supported by an overwhelming majority of regional and state executives of the Lawyers’ umbrella body..
Prof Chidi Anslem Odinkaku ,a senior lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, in a post shared on his official site on Thursday, alleged that the DSS, acting the script of the Federal Government, arrested the Chief Executive Officer CEO of the service provider for the NBA election as a part of the wider plot to frustrate the exercise.
He, however, expressed serious concern that the DSS which had earlier signified its readiness to observe the said election on Saturday could turn round to be used to truncate it.
In a statement from his media office on Thursday, the former Vice President noted that the ongoing moves to truncate the NBA electoral process is an eloquent testimony to the fact that there is no segment of the country’s institutions the Tinubu administration cannot compromise.
Particularly, the ADC Presidential Candidate expressed regret that the president has brought his “state-sponsored toxic politics of coronation to equally bear on the NBA election.
He described as shameful and disgraceful that after failing to frustrate the NBA election using some groups and individuals, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Presidency has now resorted to deploying security agents to arrest service providers.
According to Atiku, the same strategy of imposition in the NBA, without allowing free, fair, and credible elections, is what the Tinubu administration is working tirelessly to achieve in the 2027 general elections.
“This desperation shows how the Tinubu-led APC Government plans to use Government agencies to rig the 2027 general elections.
“This, to say the least, is a dangerous precedent that is capable of widening our fault lines which this administration’s politics has turned into craters.
“We wish to state that NBA election remains the sole responsibility of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association ECNBA ,appointed by the NBA NEC .
“This has been the practice under the NBA Constitution ,2015 (as amended). By seeking to enthrone its preferred candidate by arm-twisting the NBA to disqualify two prospective candidates, the Tinubu Presidency was simply adopting its play book to have the candidates of the opposition parties disqualified through the instrumentality of the Courts and electoral umpire” Abubakar stated .
“This desperation shows how Tinubu-led Government plans to use Government agencies to rig the 2027 general elections”, Abubakar stated
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