The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for the immediate removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, over his position on the insecurity in Nigeria.

Daily Trust reports that, in the paper, Amupitan, who was then a faculty member at the University of Jos, Plateau State, said, among other things, that “it is a notorious fact that there is perpetration of crimes under international law in Nigeria, particularly crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

“One word that the Nigerian authorities and international investigators and rapporteurs have not mentioned (or simply refuse to mention) in respect of the protracted violence in Nigeria is ‘genocide.’ Is this a deliberate omission or an oversight?”

He added that the “alleged involvement of the state and non-state actors in the commission of crimes under international law in Nigeria has complicated an already complex situation.”

He added that, “Boko Haram sect is a desire for the Islamisation of Nigeria. The Fulani ethnic militants, on their part, have engaged in the same anti-Christian violence as their Boko Haram counterparts.

He had also called on the United Nations Security Council, its relevant organs, and major world powers to, among other recommendations, urge contracting parties to the Genocide Convention to sue Nigeria before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for failing to prevent and punish genocide as required under Articles 8 and 9 of the Convention; and consider military intervention by the UN, the African Union (AU) or ECOWAS forces as a last resort, in line with Article 42 of the UN Charter.

In a statement by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC warned that anyone associated with such a controversial document cannot be trusted to preside over Nigeria’s electoral processes.

“A man who authored a hate letter to President Donald Trump about Muslims in Northern Nigeria cannot be expected to be fair in overseeing elections in Nigeria,” he stated.

MURIC said the INEC boss’s alleged role in the report undermines public confidence and poses “a potent threat to Muslim candidates in North Central Nigeria and the rest of the country.”

“From the moment this disclosure was made, Amupitan has become persona non grata in Muslim circles in election matters. We hereby declare our total, complete, and categorical loss of confidence in him as INEC boss,” the group said.

The group therefore urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to relieve the INEC chairman of his duties and appoint a replacement with “a national spread of acceptance.”

“We suggest that any other qualified person with national spread of acceptance, preferably of the same faith with Amupitan but from another geopolitical zone be picked to replace him,” Akintola added. (Daily Trust)