The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has renewed its demand for the immediate removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, warning that his continued stay in office could undermine the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process.
The Council declared that Muslims across the country would neither recognise nor legitimise any election conducted under the leadership of an INEC chairman whose integrity, it said, is in question.
The President of the Council, Sheikh Bashir Umar, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during the SCSN’s 2026 Annual Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly.
Speaking on the theme “Nigeria’s Future: Faith, Justice, and Leadership,” Umar said the Council’s position was based on what it described as the INEC chairman’s controversial antecedents. He specifically referenced a legal brief reportedly authored by Amupitan, which alleged the existence of a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
According to Umar, the claim has been repeatedly dismissed by the Federal Government, yet continues to cast a shadow over the neutrality expected of the head of the electoral body.
He stressed that for elections to be credible and widely accepted, the leadership of INEC must be free from allegations capable of deepening religious mistrust and national division.
The Council urged the Federal Government to act swiftly in the interest of national unity and public confidence in the electoral system.
