Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has taken an early lead in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential election as vote counting continues.

Early results released at 11:33 a.m. on Saturday showed Badejo-Okusanya leading with 4,860 votes, representing 41.77 per cent of the ballots counted.

Her closest rival, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN), secured 3,851 votes (33.10 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro (SAN) polled 2,924 votes (25.13 per cent).

Although the final result is yet to be announced, the 11,600 votes counted so far indicate that the election is currently tilting in Badejo-Okusanya’s favour.

The development comes a day after NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) dismissed allegations that he was attempting to influence or manipulate the election.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Friday, Osigwe insisted that the NBA Electoral Committee operates independently and does not take directives from him. He also denied backing any candidate, describing the allegations as politically motivated and unsupported by evidence.

The July 18 NBA election had been preceded by weeks of controversy, with some candidates and stakeholders raising concerns over the credibility of the process, including calls for the poll to be postponed and demands for mandatory National Identification Number (NIN) verification for voters.

However, the association maintained that the Electoral Committee is constitutionally empowered to conduct the election and denied allegations of interference.