The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has escalated its demand for the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, by formally taking its case to the National Assembly (NASS).

MURIC and other Islamic organisations are seeking Amupitan’s removal over his authorship of an 80-page legal brief on alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.

In a statement on Wednesday, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said three months after Islamic organisations began calling for Amupitan’s removal, he remains in office.

Akintola alleged that the presidency had shown little interest in addressing complaints from Islamic groups, despite what he described as “indisputable evidence” of the INEC chairman’s involvement in making what he termed false allegations against Nigerian Muslims before an American audience.He questioned the federal government’s commitment to fairness, arguing that it appeared more responsive to “frivolous demands” than to what he called evidence-based complaints from law-abiding Islamic organisations.

MURIC expressed concern over Amupitan’s continued leadership of INEC, stating that his past actions could undermine confidence in his neutrality ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The group warned that the issue of alleged anti-Muslim prejudice could become central to future election disputes.

“Since the presidency appears uninterested in listening to the complaints of Muslims against Amupitan, we must take his case to the court of the people’s representatives, the National Assembly,” Akintola said.

He insisted that the demand was not about the INEC chairman’s religion but about what the group described as a “fanatical and hateful” disposition toward Nigerian Muslims.

MURIC called on lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly to examine the matter, stressing that Muslims, as taxpayers and citizens, deserve to be heard.

The organisation also rejected Amupitan’s suitability to serve as an impartial electoral umpire in 2027, reiterating its call for his removal.

Amupitan was listed as a contributor to the 2020 publication, Nigeria’s Silent Slaughter: Genocide in Nigeria and the Implications for the International Community, released by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) and the International Organisation on Peace-building & Social Justice (PSJ).

He authored an 80-page chapter titled Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria, which argued that the scale and pattern of killings and displacement of Christians met the threshold for genocide under international law. The brief also accused the federal government of failing to adequately protect affected communities and ensure justice for victims.(Daily Trust)

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