* Groups reject legitimacy of elections under INEC boss
The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) and the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) have renewed calls for the immediate removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, warning that his continued stay in office poses a serious threat to the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic process.
The SCSN made the call during its 2026 Pre-Ramadan Lecture and General Assembly held in Abuja, where it warned that Muslims across the federation would not recognise or legitimise any election conducted under Amupitan’s leadership.
President of the council, Sheikh Bashir Umar, said the demand was based on what he described as the INEC chairman’s “questionable antecedents,” particularly a legal brief he authored alleging the existence of a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
Speaking on the lecture theme, “Nigeria’s Future: Faith, Justice, and Leadership,” Sheikh Umar said the position taken in the legal brief directly contradicts the official stance of the Federal Government, which has consistently maintained that no genocide is taking place in the country.
He added that narratives of religious genocide fuel division and threaten national cohesion.
“This is not the first time the council has taken this position,” Umar said, noting that the claims advanced in the brief were divisive and harmful to national unity. The council consequently rejected all narratives suggesting a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
Also speaking at the event, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Funds and member representing Kaura-Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, Aminu Sani Jaji, commended the timing of the lecture in view of Nigeria’s security and socio-political challenges.
He said Ramadan is a period of deep spiritual reflection and stressed the need for guidance from religious scholars amid heightened religious and political tensions.
Jaji warned that unverified and divisive claims, including allegations of religious persecution, could further undermine national cohesion.
On his part, the Madakin Zazzau, Muhammadu Munir Ja’afaru, described the SCSN as a credible, principled and courageous voice of the Nigerian Muslim Ummah since its establishment.
In a separate statement, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) aligned itself with the position of the SCSN, reiterating its demand for the immediate sack of Professor Amupitan.
The statement, issued on Thursday, January 29, 2026, by the Chairman of MURIC’s Kano State chapter, Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa, said Amupitan’s past assertions showed a lack of neutrality, rendering him unfit to oversee the 2027 general elections.
MURIC recalled that it had earlier, in press statements issued on November 10 and November 24, 2025, demanded Amupitan’s removal over what it described as a hate-filled legal brief sent to the United States alleging a Christian genocide in Nigeria.
The group also cited concerns raised by other organisations, including the Da’wah Coordination Council of Nigeria (DCCN) and the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), which alleged a potential conflict of interest due to Amupitan’s reported involvement with the ruling party’s legal team during the 2023 presidential election petition.
According to MURIC, the 80-page legal brief authored by Amupitan in 2020 portrayed attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen as a coordinated anti-Christian campaign and accused Nigerian authorities of deliberately avoiding the term “genocide” to escape international accountability.
The organisation described the brief as divisive and contrary to the Federal Government’s consistent rejection of genocide claims.
MURIC maintained that the call for Amupitan’s immediate removal, resignation or prosecution was aimed at safeguarding the credibility and legitimacy of the 2027 general elections.
“Allowing Amupitan to supervise Nigeria’s electoral processes will erode public confidence, as his integrity is already compromised,” the statement said, urging the Federal Government to act in the interest of national unity and democratic stability.
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