Appeal Court Nullifies Order Halting NBA Election, Says AGF Cannot Issue Directives to Courts

• Condemns forum shopping, strikes out suit for want of jurisdiction

Alex Enumah in Abuja and Wale Igbintade in Lagos

The Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, has set aside the proceedings and interim orders of the Oyo State High Court that halted the 2026 Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Officers’ Election, holding that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on July 14, 2026, Justice Fadawu Umaru, with Justices Kenneth Ikechukwu Amadi and Fatima Binta Zubairu concurring, allowed the appeal and struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction.

The appeal, marked CA/IB/110/2026, was filed by Mr. Aham Ejelam, SAN; Ibrahim Aliyu Nasarawa; Muhammad M. Nuhu; Uju Okafor.; and Ume Maduka., against Chief Gabriel Ojo Adekunle Ijalana; the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN; the Body of Benchers; and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), in his capacity as Chairman of the General Council of the Bar.