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The new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, has promised to put an end to the widespread culture of prolonged pre-election court cases that have consistently undermined Nigeria’s democracy.
While addressing participants at the 56th Annual National Conference of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) held yesterday at the University of Abuja, Amupitan said that one of his major goals as INEC Chairman was to “end the courtroom warfare” that often began long before election day.
The INEC boss, who officially took over the position barely a week ago after being sworn in by President Bola Tinubu, stated that the commission could no longer continue with a system where more than 1,000 pre-election lawsuits were filed before the 2023 general elections.
“That is not democracy. That is litigation by other means,” he said.
He explained that the real solution to the issue did not lie in endless legal confrontations but rather in strict compliance with the law, beginning with the conduct of political parties.
Amupitan said: “If political parties obey their constitutions, respect the Electoral Act and align with the Nigerian constitution, the avalanche of pre-election cases will collapse. My goal is simple: to make the law an instrument of change, not chaos.”
He added: “My desire is that when we get the law right, even the losers will be the first to congratulate the winner. That is when we can truly say our democracy has matured.”
Prof. Amupitan, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a respected scholar, also appealed to the National Assembly to reinforce the country’s electoral laws, stressing that credible elections depend on strong legal structures and political parties that practise genuine internal democracy.
Acknowledging that reducing election-related court cases might not please some lawyers, he insisted that the reform was vital to restore citizens’ faith in the electoral process.
“We cannot continue to allow the courts to determine our elections. Elections must be won at the polling units, not in the courtroom,” he stated.
Speaking further to law lecturers, students, and legal experts at the conference themed “Law, National Development and Economic Sustainability in a Globalised World,” Amupitan urged the legal academic community to treat law as a tool for reform and justice rather than for self-interest.
He said: “As law teachers, we must lead by example, building a generation that values integrity over influence and justice over convenience.”
Earlier, the President of NALT and Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Prof. John Akintayo, praised the INEC Chairman’s vision, saying that the rule of law remains the foundation of good governance and sustainable national development.
“A nation’s progress depends on how its laws anticipate, adapt to and shape change,” he noted.
Also, the Conference Chairman and Dean of Law, University of Abuja, Prof. Uwakwe Abugu, said that this year’s conference would focus on key topics such as food security, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and legal reforms—areas where law and governance must evolve to meet contemporary challenges.
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