NBA Presidential Second Runner-Up & Withdrawn Candidate Ikwuazom Demands Full Access To Critical Election Data, Urges ECNBA To Act Swiftly

In a surprising turn of events, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN, the second runner-up in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) presidential elections, withdrew his candidacy from the race over 9 hours before the end of the election.

Ikwuazom’s withdrawal comes amidst growing concerns over alleged anomalies and irregularities observed during the electoral process

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA), Ikwuazom, who was in third place at the time of his withdrawal, endorsed the concerns raised by another candidate, highlighting issues such as identity theft of voters, potential double-voting, discrepancies in vote display and updates, suspicious vote increase patterns, and inconsistencies in voting figures. Ikwuazom’s team emphasized that these irregularities undermine the credibility of the election and necessitate a thorough examination of the electoral process and systems.

In his letter, Ikwuazom stated that he aims to focus on supporting the call for transparency and ensuring the integrity of the NBA’s electoral process. The letter emphasized the need for the ECNBA to provide full access to critical information and documents related to the elections, including server and application log files, database records, network traffic logs, incident response documentation, and detailed logs of voter authentication attempts, among other crucial data. Ikwuazom urged the ECNBA to treat this matter with the utmost urgency, requesting that all necessary information be provided within 48 hours to maintain transparency and integrity in the NBA’s electoral processes.

However, at a press briefing held at the NBA House Auditorium in Abuja, the Chairman of the ECNBA, Oluseun Abimbola, stated that the committee did not receive any official communication regarding the withdrawal of any candidate from the presidential race. Abimbola clarified that the committee only read about the alleged withdrawal and subsequent counter-withdrawal on social media, just like everyone else. “Let me say straight away that we never received any official communication of the withdrawal or notice of these activities. Whatever you read, I do not know so that I can also follow up, disclaimers, all of them,” Abimbola said.

Some lawyers have criticized Ikwuazom’s decision to withdraw and allege manipulations as cowardly, questioning the basis for contesting the outcome after withdrawing from the race. One lawyer commented, “Now that you have withdrawn, what would be the basis to contest the outcome?”

TheNigeriaLawyer recalls that Ikwuazom, despite being in third place, had announced his withdrawal from the election with over 9 hours remaining, citing concerns over the compromised integrity of the electoral process. In a letter addressed to the members of the NBA, Ikwuazom expressed his belief that the system had been manipulated to favor a predetermined outcome, consistently placing him in third position despite the overwhelming support from his dedicated supporters.

The main correction made was changing “third runner” to “second runner-up” in the first paragraph to accurately reflect Ikwuazom’s position in the race. The rest of the article remains unchanged as it was already correctly referring to his position as “third place.”