The Amalgamated Muslim Rights Concern (AMURIC), a southern-based Islamic rights group, has accused the federal government of systematically marginalising northern Muslim leaders through selective justice and political exclusion.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Friday, October 24, 2025, and signed by its Secretary-General, Barrister Bilal Akinola Husayn, AMURIC alleged that since June 2023, the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has institutionalised religious bias in governance, particularly against northern Muslims.
The group claimed that the North, which it described as a “stabilising pillar of Nigeria’s identity,” is now being politically isolated and economically weakened through “a quiet but coordinated persecution.”
According to the statement titled “Persecution of the North and Emerging Northern Muslim Leaders: Enough is Enough,” AMURIC accused the government of using state institutions to target prominent northern figures while shielding southern politicians from accountability.
“A pattern too consistent to ignore has emerged. Northern Muslim leaders in opposition politics are being systematically targeted and silenced,” the group said.
Among those listed as alleged victims of persecution were former NHIS Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf; former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai; Kano State governor Abba Yusuf; and former Sokoto State governor Senator Aminu Waziri Tambuwal. AMURIC alleged that these leaders are facing politically motivated investigations led by a “religiously biased EFCC chairman.”
The organisation further accused the government of exonerating southern Christian politicians such as former governors Ayo Fayose and Ifeanyi Okowa, while northern Muslims continue to face what it described as “ceaseless investigations, arrests, and public humiliation.”
It also condemned what it called the “assault” on northern traditional institutions, particularly the crisis surrounding the Kano Emirate, which it alleged was being manipulated for political gain.
AMURIC faulted the federal government’s handling of Nigeria’s relations with Niger Republic, claiming that the severing of long-standing cultural and economic ties had devastated border communities in Sokoto, Katsina, and Kebbi states.
The group further criticised the administration’s infrastructure priorities, describing the multitrillion-naira coastal highway project as a “symbol of southern privilege” at the expense of northern development.
It also accused the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, of exclusionary conduct, alleging that her humanitarian outreach had consistently favoured non-Muslim northern states while “neglecting Muslim-majority areas.”
Warning that continued marginalisation could deepen national division, AMURIC urged the government to restore fairness, inclusion, and justice in governance.
“If left unchecked, this pattern of bias will drive deeper resentment and push millions of northern Muslims to believe they have no place in the country they helped build,” the group said.
AMURIC called on President Tinubu to address the “emerging imbalance” in political appointments, law enforcement, and economic policies to prevent further erosion of national unity.
