Even Tinubu’s Newly Appointed INEC Chairman, Prof. Amupitan, Once Described Killings in Nigeria as Genocide

New revelations show that Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) recently appointed by President Bola Tinubu as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) authored a 2020 legal brief describing widespread killings in Nigeria as acts of genocide.

The brief, titled “Legal Brief: Genocide in Nigeria – The Implications for the International Community,” was part of a report published by the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON), a global human rights advocacy group.

The document, signed under Amupitan’s law firm, Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN) & Co., bore his Jos and Abuja addresses, confirming his authorship long before his current appointment.

In the paper, Amupitan argued that crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide were being committed in Nigeria, particularly against Christians and minority ethnic groups. He warned that the government’s failure to prosecute offenders or protect vulnerable citizens risked pushing the country toward tragedies similar to Rwanda or Sudan.

He identified Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen as the main perpetrators of mass killings and displacement, criticising the government for not officially designating the herdsmen as terrorists. Amupitan accused Nigerian authorities of constitutional neglect, saying their inaction made international intervention both moral and legal obligations.

Tracing Nigeria’s ethno-religious violence to the 1804 jihad of Uthman Dan Fodio, he argued that the modern wave of attacks was driven by a continued Islamisation agenda, protected by entrenched political structures.

Amupitan further accused the government of avoiding the term “genocide” to evade global accountability, noting that concealing such crimes was a way to protect state sovereignty “at the expense of innocent lives.”

He concluded by urging the United Nations and world powers to intervene, stressing that state sovereignty cannot shield perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity.

His 2020 stance, now resurfacing after his INEC appointment, has drawn attention to his long-standing criticism of government handling of violence and human rights abuses in Nigeria.