Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya Becomes First Woman Elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association

The legal profession in Nigeria has reached a landmark milestone. Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya has been officially declared the President-Elect of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) following the nationwide 2026 national officers’ election. Polling 12,317 votes (47.18% of the total ballots cast) in a competitive electronic election, Badejo-Okusanya defeated two distinguished fellow Senior Advocates—Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (7,934 votes) and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (5,855 votes).

Her victory carries immense historic significance as she becomes the first woman in the association’s history to win the presidency through a direct national election. While she is the second woman to head the NBA overall—following Dame Priscilla Kuye, who stepped into the role from First Vice-President in 1991—Badejo-Okusanya’s triumph marks a groundbreaking shift for female representation in African bar leadership. Succeeding Afam Osigwe, SAN, her upcoming 2026–2028 tenure will focus on institutional modernisation, judicial independence, and empowering young legal practitioners nationwide.

Beyond her landmark electoral win, Badejo-Okusanya brings a formidable professional and academic pedigree to the role. Raised on the UNILAG campus in Akoka, she comes from a distinguished family of trailblazers; her late father, Professor Olufolabi Olumide, was a renowned surgeon and the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), while her mother, Clara Folasade Olumide, served as the first female Registrar of the University of Lagos.

Intriguingly, her path to the legal summit was not entirely direct. She initially earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Lagos before returning to complete her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002 and went on to obtain a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Commercial and Corporate Law from Queen Mary University of London.

Her career spans top-tier private practice and high-level public service. After cutting her teeth at Olaniwun Ajayi LP, she served as Senior Special Assistant on Justice Sector Reform to former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola in 2007 and was later appointed General Counsel to the Governor. Today, she co-heads the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice at Africa Law Practice NG & Co. as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). Her elevation to Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2025 capped off decades of dedicated service—setting the stage for her historic rise as the 33rd leader of the Nigerian Bar.

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