The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has renewed its call for the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing him as a threat to the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process.

The Council warned that Muslims would neither recognise nor legitimise any election conducted under Amupitan’s leadership, citing what it described as serious integrity and neutrality concerns.

The President of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria, Sheikh Bashir Umar, made the position known on Tuesday during the Council’s 2026 Annual Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly in Abuja, themed “Nigeria’s Future: Faith, Justice, and Leadership.”

Umar said the Council’s stance was based on what it described as the INEC chairman’s questionable antecedents, particularly a legal brief he allegedly authored suggesting the existence of a Christian genocide in Nigeria — a claim the Federal Government has repeatedly dismissed.

“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.”

According to him, the position taken by the INEC chairman amounted to divisive propaganda and raised serious doubts about his impartiality as the head of Nigeria’s electoral body.

“For an umpire in a democratic process, integrity and neutrality are non-negotiable,” Umar stated. “As far as we are concerned, his integrity has been compromised. The honourable thing is for him to resign. If he does not, the government should dismiss or retire him.”

When contacted, a source at Independent National Electoral Commission dismissed the allegations, saying the commission would not dignify the Council’s claims with a response, describing them as an attempt to attract publicity.

Asked whether the Council intended to seek legal redress, Umar said the SCSN was an advocacy body and not directly involved in litigation, but noted that other groups had already approached courts to challenge Amupitan’s appointment and continued stay in office.

“The Ummah will not recognise or legitimise any election presided over by a character with questionable integrity,” he added. “Democratic credibility must never be compromised.”

Beyond the electoral issue, the Council also expressed concerns over worsening insecurity, economic hardship, poor budget implementation, alleged imbalance in federal appointments, and what it described as attempts to undermine Muslims’ constitutional right to practise Shari’ah in Muslim-majority states.

The SCSN further rejected narratives of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, warning that such claims fuel division and threaten national cohesion.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Funds, Aminu Sani Jaji, said the timing of the Pre-Ramadan lecture was significant given Nigeria’s security and socio-political challenges. He cautioned that unverified and divisive narratives could worsen tensions if not responsibly addressed.

The chairman of the occasion, the Madakin Zazzau, Mallam Muhammadu Munir Ja’afaru, said the Council has remained a principled voice of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah, promoting justice, peaceful coexistence and national unity through constructive engagement. (AriseNews TV, but headline reworked)

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