‘Sack Amupitan now!’, Nigerian Shari’a Council tells Tinubu, says he’s unfit to head INEC from biased position
*Says person to occupies office as INEC Chairman must be neutral
*As Council blasts Amupitan for his disturbing distortion of history linking Usman Dan Fodio Jihad with current insecurity in Nigeria
By KEMI KASUMU
The Council condemned what it called Amupitan’s attempt to associate modern insecurity with the historic jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio, describing it as “a malicious distortion of history and a deliberate insult.”
For what has now become open and undenied role he played in the legal brief on genocide leading to national mess the country is currently facing with the NM United States of America, immediately sack of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as Chairman of the Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been demanded.
Making this demand, according to a media report, is the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN), which called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately reverse the appointment of the newly inaugurated INEC Chairman, saying he cannot be trusted with an electoral umpire as sensitive as being capable of possibly making or marring the country especially with general elections around the corner.
The Shari’ah Council’s call on Saturday followed SaharaReporters’ exclusive report further amplified by The DEFENDER, which revealed that Professor Amupitan once authored a legal brief in 2020 which the United States of America’s President Donald Trump has now used to issue a threat of military operations in the sovereign country over what he called Christian genocide in a terrorism crisis where Muslims have the highest percentage of victims.
SaharaReporters had on Thursday exclusively obtained the report titled “Nigeria’s Silent Slaughter” where the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, in his legal brief, called for urgent intervention to stop what he termed “pogrom and attacks against the Christians and minority groups in Nigeria.”
READ ALSO: The revelation about Prof Amupitan – Why I am not surprised?
Since the report broke out especially from further allegations raised by some respondents in Abuja and other places, there has been expression of concerns within the Muslim Ummah where many begin to feel betrayed that Tinubu, who climbed on their strength of Muslim-Muslim ticket to the presidency in 2023, would be betraying them with an alleged plot to use an agenda of collaborating with the Muslim community to earn himself a second term with or without the majority Northern and Muslim votes.
According to SaharaReporters, Amupitan, recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu to head the country’s electoral commission, had titled his contribution, “Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria – The Implications for the International Community.”
The document — published by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), a global advocacy network promoting human rights and religious freedom — was officially signed under Amupitan’s law firm, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) & Co., Legal Practitioners & Corporate Consultants, with offices in Jos and Abuja.
The Shari’ah council described Amupitan’s legal brief as “provocative, distorted and bigoted assertions” against Muslims in Northern Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Friday, November 7, 2025 (16th JumadaI 1447 AH), the SCSN said it received with “deep disappointment and grave concern” the SaharaReporters investigation alleging that Amupitan’s 2020 legal document characterised Northern violence as “Christian genocide” and linked the insecurity in the North to the 19th-century Jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio.
The Council said it found such a stance “regrettable and disturbing”, especially from someone “now entrusted with overseeing Nigeria’s democratic integrity.”
“If indeed Prof. Amupitan authored the said document, his submissions are not only unbecoming of a person of learning but dangerously inimical to the unity, peace, and stability of our country,” the statement read.
The Council described Amupitan’s reported claims as “divisive, sectarian, abusive, and factually inaccurate narratives against a majority faith community.”
It further “categorically debunked the falsehood” contained in his alleged analysis of “Christian genocide,” insisting that the violence ravaging Northern and North-Central Nigeria is multi-dimensional and not a one-sided religious persecution.
It said, “If we strip away the mischievous emotional language and examine the facts objectively, the reality is that the violence in Northern and North-Central Nigeria is complex and multi-dimensional. Both Muslims and Christians have suffered immensely from extremist attacks, banditry, and communal conflicts rooted in accumulated neglect, poverty, and social injustice.”
Citing humanitarian data, the SCSN claimed that Muslims have suffered more casualties than any other group in the ongoing crises.
“Credible humanitarian data from independent and international sources reveal that Muslims have suffered more casualties in these conflicts than any other group. This is an incontrovertible reality easily verified by mapping the epicentres of violence from Borno to Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, and Yobe, where over 90 percent of the victims are Muslims,” it said.
The Council condemned what it called Amupitan’s attempt to associate modern insecurity with the historic jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio, describing it as “a malicious distortion of history and a deliberate insult.”
“The Jihad of Sheikh Uthman was not a war of hatred or extermination; it was a spiritual, moral, and social reform movement that restored justice, knowledge, and governance rooted in ethics. These instituted ideals are still admired across the African continent today.”
The SCSN said Amupitan’s record and writings “call into serious question his ability to conduct free and fair elections in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic nation.”
“Presiding over Nigeria’s electoral system demands the highest standards of neutrality, fairness, and inclusivity. By his own words, Prof. Amupitan has demonstrated a deep-seated prejudice that calls into serious question his ability to conduct free and fair elections.”
The Council, therefore, demanded that President Tinubu “immediately review and reverse” Amupitan’s appointment, declaring that “the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process cannot be entrusted to someone whose record reveals open hostility toward one of the country’s largest faith communities.”
The statement also appealed for calm among Nigerians across all religious divides, urging both Muslims and Christians to unite against common national threats.
“We urge all Nigerians, Muslims and Christians alike, to reject narratives that seek to pit one faith against another. Our common enemies are injustice, corruption, poverty, and insecurity.”
The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria, in conclusion, reaffirmed its commitment to peace, unity, and the pursuit of truth based on fairness and mutual respect.
