The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately reverse the appointment of Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), citing concerns over his alleged authorship of a controversial legal document on religious violence in Nigeria.
The Council’s demand followed a SaharaReporters investigation which unearthed a 2020 legal brief authored by Prof. Amupitan, titled “Genocide in Nigeria: The Implications for the International Community.”
The document, published by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), reportedly characterized violence in Northern Nigeria as “Christian genocide” and urged international intervention.
According to the report, the brief was officially issued through Amupitan’s law firm, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) & Co., based in Jos and Abuja.
In a statement dated Friday, November 7, 2025 (16th Jumada I, 1447 AH), the Shari’ah Council described the brief as “provocative, distorted, and bigoted,” claiming that it portrayed Muslims in Northern Nigeria unfairly and painted a divisive picture of the country’s security challenges.
“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 Council stated.
The SCSN insisted that the security crisis in the North is multi-dimensional, affecting both Muslims and Christians, and not rooted in religious persecution as alleged in the brief.
“Both Muslims and Christians have suffered immensely from extremist attacks, banditry, and communal conflicts caused by neglect, poverty, and injustice. Credible humanitarian data shows that Muslims have borne a larger share of casualties,” the statement added.
The Council further criticized Amupitan’s alleged attempt to connect modern insecurity with the 19th-century Jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio, describing it as a “malicious distortion of history.”
It argued that Sheikh Uthman’s jihad was “a moral and social reform movement” rather than an act of hatred or religious conquest.
The SCSN warned that Amupitan’s alleged views raise serious doubts about his capacity to lead a neutral electoral institution in a diverse country like Nigeria.
“The integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process cannot be entrusted to someone whose record reveals open hostility toward one of the country’s major faith communities,” the Council asserted, urging President Tinubu to review and reverse the appointment immediately.
Despite its criticism, the Council appealed for calm and unity among Nigerians, urging both Muslims and Christians to resist divisive narratives and focus on shared national challenges.
“Our real enemies are injustice, corruption, poverty, and insecurity—not one another,” the statement concluded.
