• As Egbe Amofin flays attacks on Fagbemi, others
Alex Enumah in Abuja
Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Chief Aham Ejelam, SAN, has vowed to proceed with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) election as slated for July 18, 2026.
This is just as the Egbe Amofin O’odua (Egbe Amofin) has condemned criticisms by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and others against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, over his directions for the association’s upcoming 2026 national officers’ elections.
Ejelam, who is leading the electoral body that will supervise the election vowed not to resign his appointment no matter the blackmail and threats from the opposing individuals.
The ECNBA boss in a statement on Sunday reiterated that, “The election remains scheduled for Saturday, 18 July 2026, in accordance with the revised timetable published by the ECNBA”.
The statement was against the backdrop of a call from a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr, Chief Yomi Alliyu, SAN, demanding his resignation as Chairman of the ECNBA.
Ejelam’s statement read: “I have read the open letter dated 11 July 2026, authored by my learned friend and call mate, Chief Yomi Alliyu, SAN, in which he called upon me to resign as Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA).
“Ordinarily, I would not respond to a publication founded on fabricated assumptions, unverified allegations and matters presently awaiting judicial determination.
“However, because his letter seeks to question the integrity of the ECNBA and may mislead members of the Nigerian Bar Association, it has become necessary to place a few facts on record particularly when he has made it available to bloggers with his photographs prominently displayed to achieve his purposes of diminishing my person and character and indeed the electoral Committee.
“My acceptance of the chairmanship of the ECNBA was not motivated by personal ambition, political patronage or any promise of reward. It was an acceptance of a difficult professional responsibility at a critical moment in the history of the Bar.
“I will not abandon that responsibility merely because Yomi Aliyu, SAN is unhappy that I occupy that position.
“He has alleged that I am corrupt without presenting credible evidence of corruption. The repeated use of condemnatory expressions cannot transform conjecture into fact, nor can the threat of reputational damage substitute for proof. There are legal consequences for false accusations.
“My record of service to the legal profession spans several decades. I am prepared to have my conduct examined against the NBA Constitution, the applicable electoral guidelines and verifiable evidence, not against personal opinions, political disagreements or speculative questions presented as established facts. Blatant lies do not transform themselves to facts by constantly repeating them.
“The Electoral Committee derives its authority from the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association and the decisions of the Association’s competent organs.
“The constitution of the Committee was presented to the National Executive Council of the NBA. Due process was followed in establishing the ECNBA. Nobody can unilaterally dissolve the Committee, declare its members illegitimate or demand their resignation outside the mechanisms provided by the NBA Constitution.
“The ECNBA remains bound by the Constitution and will continue to discharge its mandate unless otherwise directed by a competent organ of the Association or a court of competent jurisdiction”.
Meanwhile, the Yoruba group faulted those criticising Fagbemi over his directive for the postponement of the NBA polls.
Recall, the AGF following the June 11, 2026 meeting of former presidents of the association, had directed the executive to postpone the election from July ending to August to give room for the resolution of issues around the compulsory use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for the electronic voting, withdrawal of pending cases and the issue of an untested service provider for appointed by the Electoral Committee, among other issues.
Osigwe, in a reply, described the directive of the AGF as an interference into the activities of an independent body, and entirely unconstitutional, and ultra vires his powers, adding that it is a breach of Section 10(2) of the Legal Practitioners Act.
However, in a statement signed by the chairman of the Egbe Amofin O’odua, Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, SAN, and the secretary, Prince Adetunji Oso, SAN, the group said the rejection of the outcome of the meeting on the grounds of bias against members of a three-member committee, including Wole Olanipekun, SAN, after absenting himself from a mutually agreed meeting of June 23, was most unfortunate and misleading proposition from the President of the NBA.
“Unfortunately, among those who have been making denigrating and disparaging commentaries about the person and office of the HAGF, as well as some respected leaders of the Bar from the South-West are Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN; the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF); and the Mid-Western Bar Forum (MBF),” Egbe said.
“Most unfortunately still, these vituperators, purveyors of commentaries, or opinion peddlers have chosen not to address, positively, realistically, and objectively any of the directions of the HAGF.”
Egbe noted the AGF’s directions arose from the report of the three-member committee constituted on 11th June, 2026 after a resolution reached at the meeting which he held with all Past Presidents of the NBA since 1998 and leading counsel to the respective parties in Suit Nos. 1/205/2026; I/221/2026 and Appeal No. CA/B/110/2026, wherein Osigwe failed to attend.
“In closing, the Egbe wants to borrow from the recent admonition of a respected Nigerian to the NBA, to the effect that ‘the institutional credibility of the NBA is at stake. The process of our elections must be examined through the lens of Rule of Law, public confidence and democratic legitimacy.
“The NBA internal governance must be connected with the broader constitutional role of lawyers in the society. Lawyers cannot credibly demand democratic standards from others unless they uphold such standards within their own Association”, the statement added.
