According to the senior lawyer, international observers cannot resolve the fundamental concerns surrounding the election, insisting that many lawyers already believe that "the outcome of the forthcoming NBA elections have already been pre-determined."
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief J.S. Okutepa, has challenged the authority of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, to invite the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Yiaga Africa, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), and other organisations to observe the forthcoming 2026 NBA national elections.
Okutepa questioned the constitutional basis for the invitations, asking where the NBA President derived the power to invite foreign governments and civil society organisations to monitor an election conducted by lawyers through an independent electoral committee.
He also questioned the practical value of international observers in an election that will be conducted entirely online, asking whether such observers would be granted access to the electronic voting system, backend infrastructure and lawyers' data to independently verify the integrity of the process.
According to the senior lawyer, international observers cannot resolve the fundamental concerns surrounding the election, insisting that many lawyers already believe that "the outcome of the forthcoming NBA elections have already been pre-determined."
