Fresh Pressure Mounts on INEC Chair as Shari’ah Council, Northern Voices Defend Sack Call, Insist It’s Not Religious

 

Fresh controversy has erupted over the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) and some northern stakeholders intensified calls for the removal and prosecution of the Commission’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, citing integrity and neutrality concerns.

The renewed demand follows backlash trailing the Council’s earlier resolution seeking the INEC chairman’s dismissal over a legal brief he allegedly authored in 2020, which referenced claims of persecution and genocide against Christians in Nigeria.

The development had drawn criticism from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, which warned against politicising religion and turning it into a tool of institutional pressure.

However, in a statement dated February 2 and made available to journalists, SCSN said its position was widely misrepresented, stressing that its call was not driven by religious bias but by what it described as issues of constitutional responsibility, national cohesion and institutional integrity.

The Council said the resolution emerged from its Annual Pre-Ramadan Conference and General Assembly held on January 28, 2026, and was later taken out of context in public discourse.

According to SCSN, opposition to the INEC chairman is tied to his alleged prior expressed views and conduct, which it argued could undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the electoral body.

“The Council states unequivocally that its position is not motivated by religion or sectarian considerations, but by grave concerns relating to national cohesion, institutional integrity and constitutionalism,” the statement read.

The body noted that Nigeria’s electoral commissions since independence have largely been headed by Christians, arguing that Muslim groups had never mobilised opposition on religious grounds.

“From Eyo Esua in 1964 to date, the overwhelming majority of those who have headed Nigeria’s electoral institutions have been Christians. Of the thirteen chairmen who have led the Commission, only two are Muslims. At no time did Muslims oppose such appointments on the basis of faith,” it stated.

SCSN described the alleged 2020 legal brief credited to Amupitan as “provocative and prejudicial,” particularly for linking present-day insecurity in Northern Nigeria to the 19th-century jihad of Sheikh Uthman dan Fodio and advancing claims of a targeted Christian genocide.

It argued that such claims are historically disputed and dangerous in a multi-religious society, warning that presenting them to foreign entities could damage Nigeria’s international image and internal stability.

The Council maintained that violence in the North affects both Muslims and Christians and warned against what it called one-sided persecution narratives.

Backing the Council’s position, a former Kano State House of Assembly aspirant, Mukhtar Adnan, said the credibility of INEC would be at risk if the chairman remains in office amid unresolved allegations.

Speaking in an interview, Adnan questioned the chairman’s impartiality, alleging that the disputed document was sent to foreign bodies and has not been publicly disowned.

“How do you expect neutrality from a man who has taken such a position? The head of an electoral body must be trusted across divides,” he said, urging the President to appoint a replacement with unquestionable integrity and non-partisan credentials.

Similarly, a Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) politician and youth activist in Kaduna, Comrade Nura Usman, said the neutrality of INEC leadership is critical to preserving voter confidence and democratic legitimacy.

Usman warned that ignoring the calls could erode trust in the electoral process and deepen religious and political polarization.

“The electoral leadership must be completely neutral to preserve public trust. Integrity and justice must guide institutions like INEC,” he said.

He added that failure to decisively address the controversy could trigger voter apathy, legal disputes and long-term institutional distrust, while also calling for stakeholder engagement and transparency in any presidential decision taken.

SCSN, however, reiterated that it supports fair and competent leadership regardless of religious affiliation and urged Nigerians to avoid framing the matter as a religious confrontation but as a question of institutional credibility and national interest.