By Editor
The Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria (SCSN) has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to review the appointment of the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, over a controversial legal brief allegedly authored by him in 2020, which the group says has embarrassed Nigeria on the international scene.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Friday and signed by its Secretary-General, Nafiu Baba Ahmad, the Council expressed deep concern that the legal paper, titled “Genocide in Nigeria: The Implications for the International Community” contained “toxic and bigoted” assertions that portrayed Northern Nigeria and its Muslim population in a negative light.
According to the Council, the publication, which has resurfaced online, presents a distorted view of Nigeria’s internal conflicts and has “drawn unwelcome global attention” that damages the country’s reputation among international partners.
The statement read, “It is unfortunate and disturbing that an individual now entrusted with safeguarding Nigeria’s democratic integrity could have espoused such bigotry in divisive, sectarian, and inaccurate narratives against a majority faith community,”
The SCSN said parts of the brief falsely framed violent conflicts in Northern Nigeria as a “Christian genocide” and linked them to the 19th-century jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio, an interpretation the Council described as “a malicious distortion of history.”
It said, “The Jihad of Sheikh Uthman bn Fodio was not a war of hatred or extermination but a spiritual, moral, and social reform movement that sought to restore justice, knowledge, and good governance,”
The group argued that Amupitan’s alleged authorship of such a document calls into question his neutrality and fitness to preside over Nigeria’s electoral system, insisting that his views “pose a threat to One Nigeria.”
The statement added, “Such anti-Muslim sentiments are fundamentally inconsistent with the expectations and responsibilities of his office. It is astonishing and troubling that an individual with such open bias could have successfully passed a security and background clearance before ascending to such an exalted office,”
The Council maintained that the controversy surrounding the legal brief had not only divided opinion domestically but had also subjected Nigeria to “unnecessary international scrutiny and embarrassment.”
Accordingly, the SCSN called on President Tinubu to “critically review the appointment of Prof. Amupitan to safeguard the credibility of the nation’s electoral body.”
While reaffirming its commitment to peace, unity, and mutual respect, the Council appealed to Nigerians of all faiths to resist divisive narratives.
The statement concluded, “Our common enemies are injustice, corruption, poverty, and insecurity. We must not allow religious differences to be exploited to the detriment of our national cohesion,”
