The Nigerian Bar Association has stepped up efforts to ensure a free, fair, credible and peaceful governorship election in Osun State on Saturday, August 15, 2026.
NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, led a high-powered delegation on a series of stakeholder visits aimed at securing firm commitments from electoral and security authorities.
The team first paid a courtesy call on Mrs. Oluwatoyin O. Babalola, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun and the first woman to hold the position in the state. Osigwe congratulated her on the historic appointment and urged her to discharge her constitutional duties with integrity, impartiality and courage as a worthy ambassador of the legal profession.
Babalola assured the delegation that INEC was fully prepared. She said extensive training had been conducted for election personnel to reduce human error and protect the integrity of the process. On security concerns, she explained that recent disturbances in parts of the state were largely cult-related rather than politically motivated. The REC also highlighted ongoing voter education campaigns and engagements with student bodies and other stakeholders, adding that “every single vote will count.”
The NBA team later met the Osun State Commissioner of Police and senior officers, including Deputy Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Ishaku, who is overseeing election security. Ishaku stated that the police had put comprehensive arrangements in place, with a massive deployment of personnel already under way and additional officers expected before election day to ensure adequate coverage.
The engagements ended with a press conference at the NBA Osogbo Bar Centre, attended by chairmen and secretaries of all NBA branches in the state. Osigwe called on electoral officials, security agencies, political actors and public office holders to remain strictly neutral and refrain from using their positions to favour any candidate or party. He stressed that the only acceptable outcome is one that genuinely reflects the freely expressed will of the people of Osun.
The NBA President appealed to political actors to place the interest of the state above partisan considerations. He warned that Osun must not be allowed to “go up in flames” and that no life should be lost in the pursuit of power. Osigwe urged all stakeholders to reject violence, intimidation and electoral malpractice, insisting that democracy thrives only where peace, justice and respect for the rule of law prevail.
He also encouraged lawyers serving as election observers to uphold the truth, act with courage, professionalism and impartiality, while taking necessary precautions for their personal safety.
The NBA reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s democracy and expressed optimism that the Osun election would be conducted peacefully, credibly and in a manner that reflects the sovereign will of the people.
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