The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA has declared that its election slated for Saturday July 18, 2026 will go on as planned. The Association’s National Executive Council, NEC made the decision during a virtual meeting held on Thursday.
According to the NBA, the resolution to hold the election was unanimously agreed on by the members of the NEC which also reiterated the Association’s commitment to constitutional governance, and democratic right to hold the election.
The development comes after the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, in its July 14 ruling, directed that the election should go on contrary to an earlier ruling by an Oyo state High court. The lower court had granted an ex parte interim injunction restraining the members of the NBA’s electoral committee from proceeding with the election.
The lower court had halted the plan to hold the election in a ruling delivered on March 4, 2026 by Justice G.A. Opayinka, in a suit filed by some angry members of the Association who insisted that the election should be postponed.
The controversy surrounding the upcoming election got worse after the arrest and detention of the Managing Director of the company that was contracted by NBA to oversee the election on its behalf by the Department of State Services, DSS who has since released him.
But in spite of the seeming challenges facing the Association, its NEC said there’s no justification fro postponing the election, saying everything has been put in place, including all logistics arrangement to ensure that the election is hitch free.
Reaffirming the association’s longstanding commitment to the rule of law, NEC called on all eligible members of the Bar to remain calm, participate peacefully in the elections which is coming up in a few days.
It also urged the members participating in the election to continue to uphold democratic ideals and the independence of the legal profession as guaranteed in the nation’s extant law.
The appellate court had on Tuesday, In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-man panel led by Justice Fadawu Umaru, with Justices Kenneth Ikechukwu Amadi and Fatima Binta Zubairu concurring, nullified the judgment of the lower court for lack of jurisdiction.
The appeal, marked CA/IB/110/2026, was filed by Aham Ejelam, SAN; Ibrahim Aliyu Nasarawa; Muhammad M. Nuhu; Uju Okafor.; and Ume Maduka., against Chief Gabriel Ojo Adekunle Ijalana; the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN; the Body of Benchers; and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF.
The appeal challenged the March 4, 2026 ruling of Justice G.A. Opayinka of the Oyo State High Court, which granted an ex parte interim injunction restraining the appellants from acting as members of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) or taking further steps towards conducting the 2026 NBA National Officers’ Election.
The suit was instituted by the 1st to 4th respondents through an originating summons seeking the interpretation of provisions of the 2025 amended NBA Constitution relating to the composition of the ECNBA and certain provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Umaru reiterated that jurisdiction is the foundation of every judicial proceeding.
“Jurisdiction remains the lifeblood of every judicial proceeding. It is elementary that where a Court lacks jurisdiction, every step taken in the proceedings, no matter how well conducted, amounts to a nullity. Jurisdiction is therefore the threshold issue which must be resolved before a Court can validly exercise any judicial authority,” the court ruled.
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