Born on January 15, 1967, in Lagos State, Oyinkasola Badejo-Okusanya is the first child of the late Olufolabi Olumide, a general surgeon who became the first vice-chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), and Clara Folasade Abiodun Olumide (née Solarin), a university administrator who rose to become the first female registrar of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
She grew up in the academic environment of the University of Lagos campus, Akoka, in an academic household that placed strong emphasis on integrity, hard work and service; values she says shaped her career and commitment to public service.
She got her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree in English from the University of Lagos in 1987 before returning to the institution to study law, obtaining her LL. B (Hons) in 2000.
She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2002, initially stepping away from pursuing law after her first degree, delaying her legal training for more than a decade.
Badejo-Okusanya began her legal career at Olaniwun Ajayi LP, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial law firms, where she developed expertise in litigation and advisory practice.
In 2007, she was appointed senior special assistant on justice sector reform to Babatunde Raji Fashola, then governor of Lagos State, and worked in the office of the attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Olasupo Shasore, SAN, where she contributed to justice sector reforms, the relocation of the office of the public defender, and changes to inmate transportation arrangements.
In 2011, she was appointed general counsel to the governor of Lagos State, a position she held until 2015.
During her eight years in the Lagos State government, she advised on public-private partnerships (PPP), arbitration legislation, consumer protection, and the state’s home-ownership mortgage scheme.
In 2017, Badejo-Okusanya became a founding partner of Africa Law Practice NG & Company (ALP NG & Co.), where she serves as co-head of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution practice.
She advises private individuals, corporations, and government institutions on complex commercial disputes before Nigerian trial and appellate courts, as well as in domestic and international arbitral proceedings. Her areas of practice focus on intellectual property, media and entertainment law, and public-sector regulatory compliance.
Badejo-Okusanya is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and an accredited CEDR mediator. She served on the executive committee of CIArb’s Nigeria branch and chaired its annual conference planning committee for three consecutive years.
She served on the board of the Lagos Court of Arbitration since 2015 and was a member of the Nigeria economic summit group/national assembly business environment roundtable (NESG-NASSBER) arbitration and Dispute Resolution working group, contributing to the reform process that produced Nigeria’s Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023.
She is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), the African Arbitration Association, ArbitralWomen, the International Bar Association (IBA), the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), and the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA). She is also a life member of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA).
Before her successful presidential bid, Badejo-Okusanya had served the NBA in various capacities for more than two decades. Her roles included:
- Assistant secretary of the NBA Lagos branch, delegate to the 2006 NBA elections,
- Member of the NBA Lagos branch Building committee,
- Member of the technical committee on conference planning across successive NBA administrations,
- Chair of the NBA Lagos branch annual dinner committee (2021–2022),
- Member of the Future of the Legal Profession Committee,
- Member of the conference investigation committee,
- Alternate chair of the 2023 annual general conference planning committee, and
- Chair of the 2024 annual general conference planning committee.
She has been a co-opted member of the NBA national executive council (NEC) since 2022, received the NBA presidential medal of service in August 2024, and was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on September 29, 2025.
Badejo-Okusanya entered the 2026 NBA presidential race as the only female candidate among three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) seeking to succeed outgoing president Afam Osigwe.
Badejo-Okusanya ran her candidacy, under the slogan “A Bolder Bar That Works for Everyone,” focused on lawyers’ welfare, institutional accountability, and reducing the cost of legal practice.
She emerged as the second female National President of the Nigerian Bar Association in the recently concluded elections.
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