Nigeria’s legal profession has reached a historic milestone.
Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, has been elected as the 33rd President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), becoming the first woman to win the office through a competitive election in the association’s history.
Her victory marks a defining moment for one of Africa’s largest and most influential professional bodies, which represents more than 100,000 lawyers across Nigeria.
It is also an important milestone for women in leadership.
While many headlines have described Badejo-Okusanya as the first female President of the NBA, the historical record is slightly more nuanced.
The first woman to lead the Nigerian Bar Association was Priscilla Kuye, who became President in 1991 under the association’s leadership system at the time.
Badejo-Okusanya, however, is the first woman to be democratically elected President of the NBA through a competitive national election, making her victory historic in its own right.
The election concluded after lawyers across the country cast their votes in the NBA’s 2026 national elections, with Badejo-Okusanya defeating fellow Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, and Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, to emerge victorious.
She will succeed Afam Osigwe, SAN, as President of the association.
Beyond the historic nature of the result, Badejo-Okusanya brings decades of legal experience to the role.
She is the Managing Partner of ALN Nigeria | Aluko & Oyebode, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial law firms, and is widely respected for her work in corporate and commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, energy and infrastructure.
Throughout her campaign, which was anchored on the theme “A Bolder Bar,” she called for stronger support for lawyers, greater transparency within the association, increased use of technology, improved welfare for young legal practitioners and reforms aimed at strengthening the NBA as an institution.
Her emergence has already generated conversations beyond the legal community, with many Nigerians describing it as another positive step towards greater female representation in leadership positions across major professional organisations.
For young women pursuing careers in law, the significance of the moment extends beyond one election.
It is a reminder that some of the country’s highest professional offices are becoming increasingly accessible through merit, experience and leadership.
As she prepares to assume office, Badejo-Okusanya will lead the Nigerian Bar Association on issues ranging from lawyers’ welfare and professional development to judicial reform, the rule of law and public policy engagement.
More than three decades after Priscilla Kuye first broke the gender barrier, Nigeria’s legal profession has written another chapter in its history this time through the ballot box.
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