BREAKING: Baba-Ahmed is dead
By KEMI KASUMU
“May Allah, in His infinite mercy, forgive his shortcomings, accept his good deeds, grant him Jannatul Firdaus, and give his family, friends, and the entire Ummah the strength and patience to bear this great loss. Ameen,” the news broke, with further finding showing that he would be buried today Tuesday according to Islamic rights in Abuja.
The DEFENDER can authoritatively report that the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN), Dr. Nafiu Baba-Ahmed, has passed away. He died in the early hours of Tuesday October 6, 2026, in Abuja, the country’s capital.
Although details of circumstances surrounding his demise were not available as at the time of filing this report on during the Subh prayer on Tuesday, a reliable source within the Muslim Ummah shared the sad news of his passing via respected platform from where this global online newspaper picked the information.
“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiʿun. Allahu Akbar! What a great loss to the Ummah. Mallam Nafiu Baba Ahmad has passed on.
“May Allah, in His infinite mercy, forgive his shortcomings, accept his good deeds, grant him Jannatul Firdaus, and give his family, friends, and the entire Ummah the strength and patience to bear this great loss. Ameen,” the news broke, with further finding showing that he would be buried today Tuesday according to Islamic rights in Abuja.
Our investigation revealed that the late Baba-Ahmed to be a Nigerian lawyer, Islamic scholar and public intellectual, with a long career spanning Islamic advocacy, law, banking and financial-sector administration.
He studied Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1978.
Mallam Nafiu Baba-Ahmed began his banking/legal career with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 1980 and subsequently worked with Nigeria Merchant Bank and First Interstate Merchant Bank, where he served in senior legal/secretarial positions.
He later became a Director/Legal Adviser and Board Secretary at the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and represented the CBN/NDIC on the boards of several banks undergoing restructuring.
He was also a director/non-executive director of Jaiz Bank, Nigeria’s pioneer non-interest bank. NDIC records, our source revealed, list him among the bank’s directors.
He became prominent in Islamic affairs as Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN), a position he has held for many years. An academic study from the University of Ibadan describes him as the Council’s secretary-general and a lawyer with substantial financial-sector experience.
He is a Member of the National Institute (mni) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru.
He has also been a prominent spokesman on Islamic and national issues. The DEFENDER’s source further showed that Baba-Ahmed testified before the Kaduna State Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the 2015 Zaria clash involving the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.
