MURIC Demands Immediate Removal of INEC Chairman Ahead of 2027 Elections

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately remove the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Josiah Amupitan.

MURIC said Amupitan’s removal is essential to safeguard the credibility of the forthcoming elections.

The call was made in a statement signed by MURIC’s Kano State chapter chairman, Malam Hassan Sani Indabawa, on Thursday.

The group alleged that Amupitan’s past actions justify his removal, resignation, or prosecution. MURIC highlighted a legal brief authored by Amupitan in 2020, titled “Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria: The Implications for the International Community”, which they described as “hate-filled” and addressed to the United States on the issue of alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.

MURIC warned that allowing Amupitan to remain as INEC chairman could undermine the integrity of the 2027 elections.

The statement read, “In 2020, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN) published an 80-page Legal Brief titled ‘Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria: The Implications for the International Community’.

“The document was commissioned by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) and the International Organisation on Peace-building and Social Justice (PSJ), and was later highlighted in the Religious Freedom in the World 2025 report.

“Amupitan’s Legal Brief argued that attacks by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen were not merely localized conflicts but formed a ‘coordinated anti-Christian campaign’.

“He clearly stated that crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide were being perpetrated in Nigeria.

“Our position, therefore, is that the demand for Amupitan’s immediate removal, resignation, or prosecution is to protect and safeguard the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

“We therefore demand the immediate removal of Amupitan for his glaring partisanship and apparent bias against Nigerian Muslims.”