The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for the immediate reinstatement of Professor Ibrahim Isa Ali Pantami as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State, describing his omission from the list of gubernatorial candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as illegal and unjust.
Addressing a press conference at its headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday, 13th October, 2026, MURIC Founder/Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said the omission of Pantami’s name after a court-ordered fresh primary was an act of impunity and contempt of court.
MURIC recalled that Pantami was the sole governorship aspirant of the PDP in Gombe as at May 2026 and was affirmed by voice vote on May 26, 2026, presided over by the PDP electoral committee chairman for the state, Gregory Yenlong.
According to the group, the initial primary was nullified by a Federal High Court, which ordered a fresh primary. The fresh primary was held on September 29, 2026, where Pantami scored 2,054 votes to defeat Khamisu Mailantarki and Aliyu Garry, who polled 389 and 112 votes respectively.
The group claimed that INEC monitored the fresh primary, with a team led by Mr. Gambo Umar Arabi, who signed and submitted an official report.
“On what ground is INEC disowning a process it was part of? The presence of INEC at the PDP primary which produced Pantami proves beyond any reasonable doubt that both Pantami and his party went through due process,” MURIC stated.
The Islamic human rights group accused INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, of being responsible for the omission, alleging religious bias. MURIC linked the INEC chairman to an 80-page legal brief it claimed was sent to the United States, which it said led to Nigeria being labelled a ‘Country of Special Concern’ over allegations of Christian genocide.
MURIC argued that a man who authored such a brief could not be a neutral electoral umpire and alleged that the INEC chairman was pursuing a hidden agenda to weed out Islamic scholars contesting higher offices.
The group cited examples of Christian clerics serving as governors, including Pastor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Apostle Bassey Otu of Cross River, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia of Benue, and Pastor Agbu Kefas of Taraba, and questioned why an Islamic scholar could not be allowed to contest in Gombe.
“We put it to INEC that its chairman has a ‘Candidate of Special Concern’ and it is no other than Professor Isa Ali Pantami,” Akintola said.
MURIC said it had earlier protested the appointment of Professor Amupitan as INEC chairman, along with the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria (SCSN), and that the handling of Pantami’s candidature had vindicated its position.
The group passed a vote of no confidence in the INEC chairman and called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to appoint a detribalised and religiously neutral replacement.
“MURIC demands the immediate reinstatement of the name of Professor Ibrahim Isa Ali Pantami as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Gombe State,” the statement concluded.
MURIC stressed that it is a non-partisan Islamic human rights organisation whose interest is in the protection of the fundamental rights of Nigerian Muslims across all political parties.