- Afam Osigwe SAN has emerged as the president-elect of the Nigerian Bar Association following a recent election
- TheRadar provides a list of all the presidents of the association since 2000
- Some of the past chairmen include: Onieze Okocha, Wile Olanipekun, Bayo Ojo, Lanke Odogiyon, Olisa Agbakogba and the late Rotimi Akeredolu.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has elected a new president, Afam Osigwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Osigwe, who is also the erstwhile general secretary of the association, emerged as the president-elect after securing 20,435 votes at the NBA 2024 election, which was conducted on July 20, 2024.
In light of Osigwe’s emergence as the incoming president, TheRadar has compiled all those who served as the president of the NBA from 2000-2024.
All NBA presidents from 1960-2024
1. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau (2022–2024)
Maikyau is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and founder of Y. C. Maikyau & Co Law firm. He was elected as the president of the Nigerian Bar Association on July 18, 2022.
2. Olumide Akpata (2020–2022)
He was the first non-Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 28 years to be elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association on July 30, 2020. He was a senior partner and the Head of the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group at Templars Law Firm, a top-tier law firm in Nigeria, until his resignation on August 31, 2023, which enabled him to pursue partisan politics.
3. Paul Usoro, SAN (2018–2020)
Paul Usoro is the 29th Chairman of the NBA. He founded his own legal Chamber in 1992 called Paul Usoro and Co in Kaduna. He was chairman of the NBA from 2018-2020.
4. Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud SAN (2016–2018)
He was elected as Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Kano Branch in 1993. He became the Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2001 and he was elected President of the Nigerian Bar Association where he served between 2016 and 2018.
5. Augustine Alegeh, SAN (2014–2016)
He is the Managing Partner of Alegeh & Co, He was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2007. Following the appointment of the former Managing Partner of Sadoh & Co as a
Judge of The High Court in March 1989, he became Principal Partner of Sadoh & Co, which then became known as Alegeh, Agun & Co in September 1990, following the departure of the erstwhile partner (Francis Agun) to practise in The New York Bar.
6. Okey Wali, SAN (2012–2014)
He is the 26th President of the NBA. He served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Rivers State and served as secretary of the Port Harcourt branch of the NBA in 1992.
7. Joseph Bodurin Daudu, SAN (2010–2012)
He was elected as President of the Nigerian Bar Association in August 2010, a position he held until he was succeeded by Okey Wali in July 2012. In the same 2010, he became a Life Bencher.
8. Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN (2008–2010)
He was a Nigerian lawyer and politician who served as governor of Ondo State from 2017 until his death in 2023. Arakunrin was his popular prefix, while his nickname was Aketi. He was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and became the president of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2008. Also, he was a managing partner at the law firm Olujinmi & Akeredolu, which he co-founded with Chief Akin Olujinmi, a former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria.
9. Olisa Agbakoba (2006–2008)
Olisa Agbakoba is a Nigerian human rights activist, maritime lawyer and former President of Nigerian Bar Association.
He is the president of AfroNet, an international NGO dedicated to furthering the human rights cause. Also, he is a principal partner and founder of Human Rights Law Services (HURILAWS), an NGO which specialises in advocacy and law.
10. Prince Lanke Odogiyon (2005–2006)
Prince Lanke Odogiyon became the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in 2005. Following the vacation of the seat by the then President, Bayo Ojo (SAN), who took up appointment as the Attorney-General of The Federation and Minister of Justice. He was appointed chairman of the Committee on the Creation of Local Council Development Areas in Ondo State.
11. Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN (2004–2005)
Christopher Adebayo Ojo, SAN is a former Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Also, he is a past head of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice, having been appointed by President Olusegun Obasanjo. He is a legal practitioner and is licensed to practise in three countries, namely Nigeria, England and Wales.
12. Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN (2002–2004)
Wole Olanipekun is a Nigerian Lawyer and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association and Senior Advocate of Nigeria. In 2002, he was elected as President of the Nigerian Bar Association. In January 2007, he became a Life bencher, appointed by the Nigerian Body of Benchers. Also, Chief Oluwole Olanipekun, SAN, OFR, is the principal partner of Wole Olanipekun and Co, a leading law firm in Nigeria with headquarters in Lagos State, Nigeria, and branches in Abuja and some other states in Nigeria.
12. O.C.J. Okocha, SAN (2000–2002)
Onueze Chukwujinka Joe Okocha, OFR, SAN, JP, DSSRS, served as the president of NBA from 2000-2024. He is the Founder and Managing Solicitor of the Law Firm of OKOCHA & OKOCHA. He has previously served as the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice of Rivers State, a Past President of the Nigerian Bar Association, a Life Member of the Honourable Body of Benchers (the highest body of excellence in the Legal Profession in Nigeria, which is charged with the statutory responsibility of admitting Lawyers to the Nigerian Bar), a former member of the National Judicial Council (NJC) from 2010 to 2014, and was the Chairman of the Council of Legal Education from 2012 to 2016, among numerous other professional appointments.
The rest include:
13. CHIEF T. J. O. OKPOKO, SAN 1998 – 2000
14. MRS. PRISCILLA KUYE 1992
15. CHIEF CLEMENT AKPAMGBO, SAN 1991 – 1992
16. CHARLES IDEHEN, ESQ. 1989 – 1991
17. ALAO AKA-BASORUN, ESQ. 1987 – 1989
18. EBELE NWOKOYE, ESQ. 1985 – 1987
19. PRINCE BOLA AJIBOLA, SAN 1984 - 1985
20. A. N. ANYAMENE, SAN 1982 – 1984
21. CHIEF ADETUNJI FADAIRO, SAN 1980 – 1982
22. CHIEF B. O. BENSON, SAN 1978 – 1980
23. DR. NWAKAMA OKORO, SAN 1976 – 1978
24. DR. MUDIAGA ODJE, SAN 1974 – 1976
25. CHIEF ADEBAYO OGUNSANYA, SAN 1973 – 1974
26. CHIEF RICHARD AKINJIDE, SAN 1970 – 1973
27. G. M. BOYO, ESQ. 1969 – 1970
28. PETER THOMAS, ESQ. 1968 – 1969
29. CHIEF F. R. A. WILLIAMS, SAN 1960 – 1968
Kekere-Ekun set to succeed Ariwoola, to become second female Chief Justice of Nigeria
Meanwhile, TheRadar previously reported that Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was set to succeed Ariwoola as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). This would make Kekere-Ekun the second female CJN in the history of Nigeria.
The incumbent, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, would be retiring as a result of the mandatory retirement age of 70 for a chief justice of Nigeria, which is provided in section 291(1) of the Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
