The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has warned that Muslims across the country will not recognise any election conducted under the leadership of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan.
The Council said Amupitan’s continued stay in office poses a serious threat to the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process and called for his immediate resignation or removal.
“The Ummah will not recognise or legitimise any election presided over by a character with questionable integrity, as democratic credibility must never be compromised,” the Council declared.
The position was announced at the Council’s 2026 Annual Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly held in Abuja, where its president, Sheikh Bashir Umar, accused the INEC chairman of actions that undermine neutrality and trust in the electoral system.
According to Umar, concerns over Amupitan’s past conduct, including a legal brief he allegedly authored, have raised doubts about his impartiality.
“For an umpire in a democratic process, integrity and neutrality are non-negotiable. As far as we are concerned, his integrity has been compromised,” he said.
“The honourable thing for him to do is to resign. If he does not, the government should dismiss or retire him.”
The Council also warned that elections conducted under questionable circumstances would lack legitimacy and public confidence.
“No election conducted under a cloud of compromised integrity can be recognised as credible,” it stated.
Beyond electoral issues, the Islamic body expressed concern over Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, economic hardship and declining public trust in state institutions, warning that divisive narratives and governance failures could threaten national cohesion.
