The Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, on Tuesday, overturned proceedings of the Oyo State High Court that restrained the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) from conducting the association’s 2026 national officers’ election.
Clearing the way for the ECNBA to proceed with the election as scheduled for Saturday, the appellate court held that the Oyo State High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
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It consequently set aside the proceedings before the lower court, including the ex parte interim order that restrained the ECNBA from conducting the election.
The unanimous judgement granted the prayers in the appeal filed by the ECNBA against the ruling of Judge G. A. Opayinka of the Oyo State High Court.
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Judge Opayinka had granted an ex parte interim in March, restraining the ECNBA from carrying out activities relating to the 2026 NBA national officers’ election pending the hearing of a motion on notice.
The order also restrained the NBA from supervising or participating in the electoral process.
The suit was filed by four lawyers, Ibrahim Lawal, Raymond Oki, Omotan Olusola Ogunmodede and Gabriel Ojo Adekunle Ijalana. They challenged the legitimacy of the electoral process and the composition of the ECNBA.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the ECNBA appealed against it, arguing that the Oyo State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
The Court of Appeal agreed in its decision delivered on Tuesday.
It held that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and consequently set aside the entire proceedings, including the interim order that halted the electoral process.
Background
The judgement came days before the NBA’s national officers’ election scheduled for Saturday, 18 July.
Eligible members of the association will vote electronically to elect a new president and other national officers, as well as the NBA’s representatives to the General Council of the Bar.
The suit is part of the broader crisis in the lead-up to the elections.
The election has generated several legal disputes in recent months, including challenges to the composition of the ECNBA, the appointment of the election service provider and the conduct of the electoral process.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the NBA last week rejected alleged directives purportedly issued by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, seeking to postpone the election.
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The association said only its National Executive Council (NEC) has the constitutional authority to postpone the election. It also maintained that the ECNBA is an independent body established under the NBA Constitution to conduct the poll and insisted that the election would proceed as scheduled.
To strengthen confidence in the election, the NBA invited international and domestic observer missions, including the European Union, the United States Embassy, the British High Commission, Yiaga Africa, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and other election observers to monitor the poll.
According to the association, accredited observers will monitor the electronic voting process from the Central Election Control Room in Abuja.
The NBA said the observers’ presence would promote transparency, reinforce confidence in the credibility of the election and provide an independent assessment of the electoral process.
