The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has openly rejected the leadership of Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declaring its lack of confidence in his stewardship of the electoral body.
The position was announced during the Council’s 2026 Annual Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly held on Tuesday in Abuja, where it warned that the Muslim community would not accept the outcome of any election conducted under Amupitan’s leadership.
Held under the theme “Nigeria’s Future: Faith, Justice, and Leadership,” the gathering provided a forum for the Council to express its concerns over what it described as the electoral umpire’s failure to demonstrate neutrality and fairness.
Sheikh Bashir Umar, President of the SCSN, addressed the assembly, stating that Amupitan’s presence at the helm of INEC poses a direct threat to the transparency of the 2027 general elections.
He insisted that the Council’s stance is rooted in concerns over the Chairman’s past actions and personal views, which they believe disqualify him from being an impartial judge in the democratic process.
Specifically, the Council accused Amupitan of authoring a legal document that alleged a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
Sheikh Umar pointed out that this claim has been dismissed by the Federal Government, making Amupitan’s alleged position a form of “divisive propaganda.”
“This is not the first time the Council is taking this position,” Umar said. “In a legal brief he personally sent, he sought to establish the existence of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, a position that is directly at odds with the official stance of the Federal Government, which has categorically stated that no such genocide exists.”
The Shari’ah Council argued that such a bias makes it impossible for the Chairman to oversee a fair contest. Umar further emphasized that “For an umpire in a democratic process, integrity and neutrality are non-negotiable.”
He called on the Professor to resign voluntarily or for the presidency to step in and remove him from office to protect the country’s democratic integrity.
In response, a source within the Independent National Electoral Commission played down the Council’s demands, stating that the commission would not issue any official reaction to the claims, which were described as an attempt by the SCSN to attract public attention.
