CITIZENS COMPASS—After repeated demands for the removal of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan as INEC Chairman, due to his past, bigoted assertions showing lack of neutrality, thus making him unfit to oversee the 2027 general elections, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), a faith-based civil liberty organisation, has reiterated its call for his immediate sack.
A similar call was made by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) yesterday, January 28th, 2026 at its 2026 Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly held in Abuja.
The latest call by the Islamic human rights organization was made in a statement issued on Thursday, January 29, 2026 by the Chairman of MURIC, Kano State chapter, Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa.
The full statement reads:
“The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) yesterday warned that Muslims nationwide will not recognize or accept the legitimacy of any elections conducted under the leadership of Professor Joash Amupitan, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hereby aligns itself with the SCSN. It is a noble, consistent, justifiable and objective position.
“It will be recalled that in two separate press statements of 10th November, 2025 and 24th November, 2025, we demanded the removal of the INEC boss, for writing a hate-filled legal brief to the United States on alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.
“In the two statements, MURIC asked the Federal Government why the INEC boss has not been removed since the revelation of his unpatriotic, spiteful, costly and dastardly act.
“Previously, the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN) and the Da’wah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN) had made the same demand.
“The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), also raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest, alleging Amupitan was part of the legal team for the ruling party in the 2023 presidential election petition.
“In 2020, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) published a 80-page Legal Brief titled, “Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria: The Implications for the International Community”. The document was commissioned by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) and the International Organisation on Peace-building & Social Justice (PSJ), and was later highlighted in the “Religious Freedom in the World 2025” report.
“Amupitan’s Legal Brief argued that attacks by Boko Haram and “Fulani herdsmen” were not merely localized conflicts but formed a “coordinated anti-Christian campaign”. He clearly expressed that, it was a “notorious fact” that crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide were being perpetrated in Nigeria.
“In Amupitan’s hateful, mischievous and highly divisive brief, he further accused Nigerian authorities of failing in their constitutional duty to provide security, arguing that the government deliberately avoided the term “genocide” to avoid international intervention and accountability. From all intent and purpose, this assertion is quite outrageous —and outlandish!
Amupitan’s bigoted position has evidently contrasted with the Federal Government of Nigeria that has been consistent in dismissing the allegations of genocide against Christians, creating a direct contradiction between Amupitan’s 2020 legal opinion and the official government stance.
“Our position, therefore, is that the demand for Amupitan’s immediate removal, resignation, or prosecution is to protect and safeguard the credibility of the 2027 general elections.
Allowing Amupitan to superintend Nigeria’s electoral processes will largely erode credibility and legitimacy of any election as his integrity is already compromised.
We therefore demand the immediate removal of Amupitan, for his glaring partisanship and open contempt and resentment against Nigerian Muslims.”
