MURIC Petitions National Assembly Over INEC Chairman’s ‘Christian Genocide’ Article
By Momodu Favour
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has taken its demand for the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, to the National Assembly of Nigeria over a publication he authored on alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.
The Islamic rights group said it formally escalated the matter to lawmakers after what it described as the federal government’s failure to address earlier complaints raised by Muslim organisations.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Executive Director of MURIC, Ishaq Akintola, said three months after Islamic groups began calling for Amupitan’s removal, he remained in office without any official response from the presidency.
Akintola alleged that the INEC chairman had previously presented what he described as “false allegations” against Nigerian Muslims before an American audience through an academic publication.
According to him, the development raises serious concerns about Amupitan’s neutrality, particularly as Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections.
“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 argued that the federal government appeared more responsive to what he termed “frivolous demands” than to evidence-based complaints from Islamic organisations.
The group insisted that its call for Amupitan’s removal was not based on religious bias but on what it described as a “fanatical and hateful disposition” towards Nigerian Muslims.
MURIC also warned that the controversy surrounding the INEC chairman could undermine public confidence in the electoral body and potentially become a major issue in future election disputes.
The organisation therefore urged lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly to investigate the matter, stressing that Muslims, as citizens and taxpayers, deserved to have their concerns addressed.
Amupitan was listed as a contributor to a 2020 publication titled “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 in Peace-building & Social Justice (PSJ).
In the publication, 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 in parts of the country 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.
MURIC, however, maintained that Amupitan’s involvement in the publication raised questions about his impartiality as the head of the electoral commission and reiterated its demand for his removal ahead of the 2027 polls.
