Freedom of expression is non negotiable in any civil society. The Nigerian government must learn to respect the fundamental human rights of its citizens at all times.
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—Nigerian government @MBuhari must end the delay tectics used to continue denying Omoyele Sowore @sowore his fundamental human rights.
—Sowore is a Prisoner of Conscience facing an unfair trial solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression:
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On NBA Elections, @OmoyemiAkangbe SAN
has spoken my mind.
People keep urging us to let bygones be bygones, accept the outcome, and move on. However, I don’t feel inclined to congratulate a candidate who has refused to acknowledge the clear flaws in the process, simply because the outcome favoured her.
To me, this silence reveals a lot about her character. When Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was elected President of Nigeria, he openly admitted that the process that brought him to power was flawed and pledged to reform it. That level of honesty and accountability isn’t difficult. The NBA President-elect could have done the same.
What this moment requires is honesty. And the truth is this: an election in which thousands of eligible, willing, determined voters were prevented from casting their ballots by a platform that was not fit for purpose cannot, in good conscience, be treated as though it produced the unimpeachable will of the profession. The administrative collapse was too deep, too widespread, and too well-documented to be papered over with a result.
The election is bigger than any candidate. If the NBA cannot conduct an election with credibility, we have no moral justification to condemn the anomalies of the country’s general elections.
Today is bigger than any one candidate.
Throughout the ongoing NBA elections, I have received reports from lawyers across the country who say they have been unable to cast their votes due to challenges with the voting process. Regrettably, I have also been unable to cast my own vote despite repeated attempts. We have records showing that the system allows people to vote twice, when it should be one member one vote.
Every eligible member of our Association deserves the opportunity to participate in a free, fair, transparent, and credible election. The integrity of our democratic process must inspire confidence in every voter.
To everyone who believes in this vision, I urge you: do not give up. Continue trying to exercise your right to vote for as long as the voting window remains open.
Leadership is tested most in difficult moments. Let us remain peaceful, resolute, and committed to protecting the credibility of our Association.
Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, FCIArb
Candidate, Office of the President
Nigerian Bar Association
@OmoyemiAkangbe It is absolutely embarrassing that the ECNBA is unable to conduct a transparent and honest election, yet we want the same for our country, Nigeria.
I want to talk about something this campaign has not discussed enough.
The Nigerian Bar Association raises funds from some of the very institutions it is supposed to hold accountable. Government agencies. Regulatory bodies. Parastatal organisations. And every time it does, it creates a relationship that makes fearless criticism harder, even when fearless criticism is exactly what the moment requires.
This is not a conspiracy. It is a structural problem. And structural problems require structural solutions.
My financial agenda for the NBA is built on one clear principle: we must cut our coat according to our cloth.
That means spending only on what adds real, demonstrable value to the careers of members. It means reviewing the Association's assets and optimising them for revenue generation. It means restructuring our Sections, Fora, and Institutes so they can access credible international multilateral donor funding without compromising the independence of the Association. And it means committing a minimum of thirty per cent of annual revenue to the NBA Fund every single year — not as an aspiration, but as a budget line.
At the branch level, it means the ten per cent BPF allocation reaches branches on time. Not late. Not after follow-up. On time. And it means the Secretariat's relationship with branches is one of genuine partnership, not hierarchy.
An NBA that cannot fund itself independently cannot speak freely. And an NBA that cannot speak freely cannot be the institutional conscience this country needs it to be.
Financial independence is not an accounting matter. It is a question of whether this Association can be trusted to say the difficult thing when the difficult thing needs to be said.
Under my presidency, it will be.
#ElevateTheBar #VoteLOA #LOA2026 #NBAElection2026 #18July #InstitutionalCredibility #NBAPresident2026
I want to talk about something this campaign has not discussed enough.
The Nigerian Bar Association raises funds from some of the very institutions it is supposed to hold accountable. Government agencies. Regulatory bodies. Parastatal organisations. And every time it does, it creates a relationship that makes fearless criticism harder, even when fearless criticism is exactly what the moment requires.
This is not a conspiracy. It is a structural problem. And structural problems require structural solutions.
My financial agenda for the NBA is built on one clear principle: we must cut our coat according to our cloth.
That means spending only on what adds real, demonstrable value to the careers of members. It means reviewing the Association's assets and optimising them for revenue generation. It means restructuring our Sections, Fora, and Institutes so they can access credible international multilateral donor funding without compromising the independence of the Association. And it means committing a minimum of thirty per cent of annual revenue to the NBA Fund every single year — not as an aspiration, but as a budget line.
At the branch level, it means the ten per cent BPF allocation reaches branches on time. Not late. Not after follow-up. On time. And it means the Secretariat's relationship with branches is one of genuine partnership, not hierarchy.
An NBA that cannot fund itself independently cannot speak freely. And an NBA that cannot speak freely cannot be the institutional conscience this country needs it to be.
Financial independence is not an accounting matter. It is a question of whether this Association can be trusted to say the difficult thing when the difficult thing needs to be said.
Under my presidency, it will be.
#ElevateTheBar #VoteLOA #LOA2026 #NBAElection2026 #18July #InstitutionalCredibility #NBAPresident2026
@ChidiOdinkalu@NigBarAssoc Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN has a remarkable track record,and he has repeatedly and clearly articulated in his manifesto that he will do more for the NBA if elected. LOA has my vote.
For me, picking my candidate for NBA president is simple. A leader who understands the needs of the members and is very clear about his vision and means of delivery.
He is no other than Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN.
Ready to elevate the Bar!
#elevatethebar#LOA
On July 18, 2026, lawyers across Nigeria will go to the polls to elect a new President of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Three Senior Advocates are in the race: Olumuyiwa Akinboro SAN, Yemi Akangbe SAN, and Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya SAN. However, an ethnic body representing lawyers from one region has endorsed Akinboro SAN and is insisting that all lawyers in Nigeria fall in line behind him. This body holds no official position in the NBA's constitution. It isn't one of its recognized structures. It answers to no one but itself.
We've seen this movie before, at least twice in recent history.
In 2018, the same kind of regional body endorsed Arthur Obi-Okafor SAN for the NBA presidency. Lawyers pushed back, and Paul Usoro SAN went on to win the election anyway.
In 2020, that body endorsed Dele Adesina SAN as its preferred candidate for the presidency. Again, lawyers refused to be herded, and Olumide Akpata (first non-SAN president in about 28 years) won the election instead.
This time feels worse than both. It isn't just an endorsement anymore. The body went to court asking that its preferred candidate be declared the sole candidate for the region, essentially asking a judge to cancel a contest before lawyers even get to vote.
In a democracy, a president is elected to represent everyone, not handed the seat by whichever faction shouts the loudest or gets to court first.
What the ethnic forum is doing, adopting one candidate and trying to force other aspirants out of the race, has nothing to do with democracy. Ethnic and regional fora are free to organize for their members’ welfare, but forcing every lawyer in Nigeria to fall in line behind their anointed candidate is not something Nigerian lawyers signed up for, and given what happened in 2018 and 2020, it reeks of arrogance and shortsightedness that Nigerian lawyers should, hopefully for the last time, teach them to drop.