The new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, says his administration will move decisively to end what he called the “culture of courtroom warfare” that has smothered Nigeria’s democracy with endless pre-election lawsuits.
Amupitan, who assumed office last week after being sworn in by President Bola Tinubu, made the declaration yesterday at the 56th Annual National Conference of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT), held at the University of Abuja.
He said Nigeria could not afford a repeat of the 2023 election cycle, which saw over 1,000 pre-election cases filed in court before voting even began.
“That is not democracy. That is litigation by other means,” he said.
According to him, this avalanche of pre-election cases — usually triggered by disputes over party primaries, candidacies, and internal processes — is a sign of deep institutional failure within political parties.
“The solution is not to keep running to court. The solution is to obey the law,” 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.”
He added that his ultimate goal is to build an electoral culture where outcomes are credible enough that “even the losers will be the first to congratulate the winner.”
“That is when we can truly say our democracy has matured,” he said.
Amupitan warned that INEC under his leadership would not accept a system where judges, rather than voters, become the final arbiters of who holds public office.
“We cannot continue to allow the courts to determine our elections. Elections must be won at the polling units, not in the courtroom,” he said.
While acknowledging that some legal practitioners may not be pleased with a reform agenda that could reduce election-related litigation, he argued that the credibility of the electoral process is more important than the volume of briefs.
“This is about public trust. My duty is to make the law an instrument of order, not chaos,” he said.
The INEC chairman urged the National Assembly to strengthen electoral laws and close gaps that allow abuse, saying a stable democracy depends on rules that are clear, enforceable and respected.
He also placed responsibility squarely on political parties, accusing many of paying lip service to “internal democracy” while running opaque and exclusionary primaries that end up in court.
“If parties run transparent primaries and comply with the law, most pre-election disputes will disappear before they are even born,” he said.
Speaking to an audience of law professors, students and jurists at the conference themed “Law, National Development and Economic Sustainability in a Globalised World,” Amupitan challenged legal academia to defend the integrity of the system.
“As law teachers, we must lead by example, building a generation that values integrity over influence and justice over convenience,” he said.
NALT President and Dean of Law at the University of Ibadan, Prof. John Akintayo, backed Amupitan’s position, saying that law remains “the backbone of good governance and sustainable development.”
“A nation’s progress depends on how its laws anticipate, adapt to and shape change,” Akintayo noted.
Conference Chair and Dean of Law, University of Abuja, Prof. Uwakwe Abugu, said this year’s gathering is focusing on urgent issues — including food security, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and legal reform — where the law must evolve quickly to meet modern threats.
Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former university administrator, has already signaled that technology, electoral transparency and internal party compliance will define his tenure.
