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Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, has extended her lead in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, presidential election, emerging as the candidate to beat after a dramatic start to the poll that was delayed by a cyberattack on the association’s electronic voting platform.

Updated results released at about 6:00 p.m. on Saturday showed that 21,665 lawyers out of 82,164 registered voters had cast their ballots, representing a 26.37 per cent turnout.

Of the votes counted so far, Badejo-Okusanya polled 9,930 votes (45.82 per cent) to maintain a comfortable lead over her rivals.

Her closest challenger, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, secured 6,708 votes (30.99 per cent), while Aare Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, garnered 5,021 votes (23.21 per cent).

The latest figures indicate that Badejo-Okusanya has consolidated her advantage as voting and collation continue in one of the most keenly contested NBA presidential elections in recent years.

The election had earlier been thrown into uncertainty after the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, ECNBA, announced an indefinite delay in the commencement of voting following what it described as a coordinated cyberattack on its electronic voting platform.

Voting was originally scheduled to commence at midnight on Saturday but failed to start as planned after the electoral body disclosed that external actors targeted the platform in an apparent attempt to compromise the integrity of the process.

In a statement signed by the Chairman of ECNBA 2026, Aham Ejelam, SAN, and the Committee’s Secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Nassarawa, Esq., the electoral body said the platform came under a “deliberate, coordinated and sustained cyberattack” aimed at disrupting, sabotaging and undermining the election.

The ECNBA said its cybersecurity team and Election Voting Service Provider, EVSP, immediately activated emergency security protocols to contain the threat and restore full functionality of the system.

The committee assured members that no votes were accepted during the disruption and that voting only commenced after the platform had been secured.

The development heightened anxiety among lawyers across the country, coming amid weeks of controversy over the conduct of the election, with some stakeholders raising concerns about voter verification, the electronic voting process and the overall integrity of the poll.

Despite the disruption, the ECNBA maintained that the election remained under its supervision, while candidates, agents and observers continued monitoring the process from the designated election centre.

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Residents and businesses across several communities in Enugu metropolis were left without electricity on Friday evening after an explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation triggered a widespread power outage.

The incident has intensified public frustration over the state’s unreliable electricity supply, coming amid growing criticism of MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited (MEDL), the company that assumed control of electricity distribution in Enugu following the transition from the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).

In a statement released Friday night, MEDL’s Head of Communications, Emeka Ezeh, confirmed that the blackout resulted from an explosion that damaged key equipment at the Gariki Injection Substation.

According to the company, the explosion occurred around 7:30 p.m. and affected the indoor 11kV breaker, disrupting electricity supply to customers connected to the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders.

Communities affected on the Army feeder include Army Barracks, One Day Road, Meniru, Upper Meniru, and Joe Continental. Those served by the Gariki feeder also experienced outages, including Gariki Market, Mayor Market, Roban Stores along Agbani Road, Crunchies, Mobile Police Barracks, Amechi Road, Upper Mount, Ikiriki, Emeka Ebila, Ozalla Street, Egbonnaji, Nnaji Ogbodo, Idaw River, Igbariam Street, Liberation, Mount, Umuchu, Achina, Vance, Unubi, Enugu Agidi, Amawbia, Amokwe, Kenneth, Amah, and Hill Crest.

MEDL said its engineers had begun assessing the extent of the damage and were already working to restore electricity to the affected areas.

“Our technical team is currently carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the damage and has commenced the necessary restoration efforts to ensure power supply is restored as quickly as possible,” the company said.

The utility also apologized for the disruption, appealing to customers for patience while repair work continues.

Friday’s outage adds to a growing list of power failures that have fueled widespread dissatisfaction with electricity services in Enugu State.

In May, residents of several communities accused MainPower of leaving homes, hospitals, and businesses without electricity for more than 10 days after a rainstorm damaged critical infrastructure. The prolonged outage forced many households and businesses to depend on costly petrol and diesel generators amid rising economic hardship.

The company has also faced regulatory action this year. Following numerous complaints—particularly from Band A customers—the Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission (EERC) downgraded 59 of MainPower’s feeders after investigations found the utility failed to provide the minimum hours of electricity required under the Service-Based Tariff regime despite charging customers at higher rates.

Since taking over Enugu’s electricity distribution under the state’s power sector reforms, MainPower has continued to face mounting criticism over prolonged outages, aging infrastructure, equipment failures, and inconsistent power supply, leaving many residents questioning whether promised improvements will ever materialize.

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The Presidency has revealed that Nigerian security forces have arrested foreign nationals allegedly linked to insecurity in parts of the country but deliberately withheld their identities to safeguard ongoing diplomatic engagements with their respective countries.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, made the disclosure during an appearance on The Link Up Podcast, a panel discussion hosted by EchoRoom.

According to Bwala, the Federal Government’s decision not to publicly identify the foreign suspects was informed by national security considerations and the need to maintain diplomatic relations.Africans & Diaspora

He explained that foreign interference in Nigeria’s internal affairs is often connected to broader security and economic interests, including the country’s oil resources and certain policy decisions taken by the Federal Government.

Referring to protests that erupted in parts of northern Nigeria, particularly in Kano State, Bwala suggested that some of the demonstrations had foreign dimensions.

“If you remember, there was a decision the Federal Government of Nigeria made at that time, and immediately we started seeing people in Nigeria lifting Russian flags,” he said.

Bwala further revealed that Nigerian troops apprehended foreign nationals during security operations in the country’s central region.Politics

“Our soldiers have arrested foreign nationals in the middle of the country. For security reasons, the military refused to disclose their nationality, but the government of Nigeria related with those nationalities and countries,” he said.

He added that in some situations, governments may retain such detainees while engaging their home countries through diplomatic channels.

“If you catch somebody like that, you keep them until that country has something also in it, so you do prisoner exchange,” Bwala stated.

Speaking on the security situation in the country, the presidential spokesman said insurgent groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have expanded beyond the North-East into parts of the North-West and are attempting to push towards the North-Central region.

According to him, the Federal Government is intensifying efforts to contain the insurgency and prevent it from spreading into southern parts of the country.

Bwala also defended the performance of the Tinubu administration, arguing that the government has recorded notable economic gains since assuming office.

He pointed to improvements in Nigeria’s foreign reserves and government revenue as indicators of progress under the current administration.

The presidential aide concluded by saying Nigerians would ultimately determine whether President Bola Tinubu deserves a second term based on the administration’s overall performance and achievements.