Intersociety Accuses New York Times of Falsifying Report, Insists Christian Genocide Data Is Verified

The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has accused the New York Times of misrepresenting its work and attributing false claims to its founder, Emeka Umeagbalasi, in a recent report on religious violence in Nigeria.

In a story published on Sunday, the New York Times reported that Umeagbalasi admitted that he “often does not verify his data,” stating that his research relied mainly on secondary sources such as Christian interest groups, Nigerian media reports and internet searches. The newspaper described him as an “unlikely source of research” whose work has been cited by U.S. Republican lawmakers to support what it called a misleading narrative that Christians are being systematically targeted for killing in Nigeria.

The report attributed to Umeagbalasi claims that 125,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2009, that the country has about 100,000 churches, and that nearly 20,000 of them have been destroyed over the past 16 years. It also alleged that he said most of the recently abducted schoolgirls in Kebbi State were Christians, despite official statements indicating that all the victims were Muslim. The newspaper further reported that Umeagbalasi referred to the Fulani as “animals” and proposed confining all Fulani people to a single Nigerian state, a suggestion it described as equivalent to ethnic cleansing. The report was based on an interview conducted at Umeagbalasi’s home in Onitsha.

In a statement issued on Monday, Intersociety rejected the New York Times report, accusing the newspaper of publishing falsehoods and misquotations. The statement, signed by Umeagbalasi and other officials of the organisation, said Intersociety was “shocked and totally disappointed” by what it described as “lies injuriously credited” to its leadership, adding that the claims were never made during the interview, which it said lasted more than three hours.

The organisation denied that Umeagbalasi admitted to not verifying data and said its research combines primary data gathered directly from the field with secondary data obtained from third-party sources. It disputed the figures on church attacks reported by the newspaper, stating that it documented 19,100 churches attacked, burned or destroyed since 2009, not “close to 20,000.” Intersociety said it only mentioned that Nigeria likely had about 100,000 churches as of 2021, of which an estimated 19,100 were affected by attacks attributed to Islamic jihadist groups.

Intersociety said its data collection is carried out by teams of volunteer experts and field research assistants operating across Nigeria in line with international research standards. It added that the religious identity of victims is determined through knowledge of Christian-populated areas, credible media reports and information provided by Christian communities and their leaders.

The organisation also challenged the New York Times assertion that many victims of Boko Haram are Muslim, saying available data from 2009 to 2017 indicate that most victims during that period were Christians, including an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 pastoral Igbo Christians living in northern Nigeria.

On the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi State, Intersociety denied stating that most of the victims were Christians. It said it only expressed suspicion that some Christian students may have been involved because the school is a government institution rather than an Islamic school, and because the affected area of Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area has an indigenous Christian population despite being under an emirate council.

Intersociety maintained that its findings on violence against Christians in Nigeria are based on verified data and said it stands by the integrity of its research and documentation.