The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has reportedly called on President Bola Tinubu to review the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to a report by SaharaReporters, the council’s statement issued on Saturday, follows revelations that Amupitan authored a 2020 legal brief titled
“Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria – The Implications for the International Community.”
Published through his law firm and the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), the brief reportedly highlighted attacks on Christians and minority groups in Northern Nigeria and called for international intervention.
The council described the document as “provocative, distorted and bigoted,” raising concerns about Amupitan’s capacity to lead the electoral commission impartially.
The report adds that the council emphasized that violence in Northern and North-Central Nigeria affects both Muslims and Christians, citing data suggesting Muslims have suffered the majority of casualties in several northern states.
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It also criticized Amupitan’s references linking current insecurity to the 19th-century jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio, calling it a “malicious distortion of history.”
The SCSN called on President Tinubu to “immediately review and reverse” Amupitan’s appointment, arguing 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 council urged Nigerians to unite across religious divides to tackle shared challenges such as corruption, insecurity, and poverty, while rejecting divisive narratives.