Okafor Sues Usoro, Mahmoud, NBA Over Bar Election

A Presidential contestant in the just concluded elections of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chief Arthur Obi Okafor, SAN, has sued the winner of the poll, Mr Paul Usoro, the outgoing president of the association, Mr Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN.

Similarly the electoral committee of the NBA and others are also dragged before an Abuja High Court, challenging the outcome of the election.

Okafor though his lead counsel, Mr. Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, SAN, wants the court to determine if it was right for electoral committee of the NBA to announce the result of the election and issue a certificate of return to Usoro without verification of votes cast and without instituting an audit of the electoral process, earlier promised by the electoral committee.

He is also asking the court to determine whether “It is right for the court to direct that the outcome of the participatory, independent post election audit should validate or invalidate the aforesaid result declared by the electoral committee of the NBA or the election itself.”

Okafor similarly demands the court to appoint either Price Waterhouse Coopers or Akintola Williams & Deloitte, two forensic audit firms, to conduct a verification of voters or audit the electoral process leading to the results announced.

He is also seeking an order from the court directing the body of benchers to supervise and give effect to the outcome of the post-election audit.

He is further contending that  “There are three stages of the electoral process for the 2018 National Officers Election of the NBA, which includes verification, accreditation/voting and post election audit or verification of votes,” adding that the last stage had not been complied with.

Solacebase recalled that Usoro had scored 4,509 votes to defeat Okafor and Ernest Prof Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, who scored 4,423 and 3,313 votes respectively.