Maureen Okpe
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has issued a strong statement accusing the New York Times and its West African Bureau Chief, Ruth Maclean, of what it described as “gross misrepresentation, injurious falsehood and perfidy of lies.”
This accusations is coming after a report published on Sunday, January 18, 2026, following an interview conducted with the organisation’s leadership on December 16, 2025.
In a statement released on Monday, January 19, 2026, and signed by its leaders, Intersociety said the New York Times report falsely attributed claims and statements to the organisation that were never made during what it described as a “marathon interview” lasting over three hours, followed by an additional hour of photography in Onitsha.
The statement was jointly endorsed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Head of Intersociety; Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, Head of Campaign and Publicity; Obiajunu Joy Igboeli, Head of the Civil Liberties and Rule of Law Programme; and Comrade Samuel Kamanyaoku, Head of Field Data Collection and Documentation.
The civil liberties group said it hosted Maclean privately with the approval of its Board, noting that the visit coincided with the organisation’s off-office pre-Christmas period.
According to the statement, the journalist was accompanied by a female Christian photographer from Kwara State and Mr Dave Eleke of ThisDay Newspaper, Awka, who Intersociety described as a long-time associate of its leadership.
Intersociety’s leader, Emeka Umeagbalasi, stressed that the organisation’s work on killings and attacks on Christians in Nigeria “has nothing whatsoever to do with American partisan politics, Donald Trump, Republicans, Democrats or the New York Times’ ideological positions.”
He said the organisation’s reports are rooted in international best practices under United Nations and African Union human rights frameworks.
“Our reports on massacre of Christians in Nigeria since 2009 are purely in line with international best practices under the UN and AU systems,” Umeagbalasi said. “They have nothing to do with American politics or politico-religious debates in the United States.”
Intersociety expressed particular concern over what it called a “life-threatening framing” of the New York Times report, which it said linked the December 16 interview to United States airstrikes carried out in Sokoto State on December 25, 2025, nine days after the interview.
The group described the linkage as “mischievous and dangerous,” noting that the Nigerian Government and its armed forces had publicly acknowledged and celebrated the joint operation with the US Government.
“We are at a loss as to why our interview was framed in connection with US airstrikes that took place days later.”
“We hereby place the world on notice that we are holding the New York Times and its West African Bureau Chief vicariously liable should anything untoward happen to our leader, his family or our offices.”
Addressing specific points in the report, Intersociety rejected claims that its Board Chair admitted to not verifying data. According to the organisation, Umeagbalasi clearly explained its data-gathering methodology, which includes both primary data generated through field research and secondary data obtained from credible third-party sources.
“At no point did our leader say that our data was not verified or that it was based mainly on Google searches or unverified sources. We detailed our deployment of trained volunteer field researchers across Southern Kaduna, Taraba, the South-East, South-South and other parts of Nigeria.”
The group also denied claims that it relies predominantly on secondary data such as Nigerian media and Christian interest groups. It said its work involves direct documentation, eyewitness accounts, engagement with affected communities and corroboration with credible local and international sources.
Intersociety further dismissed a claim attributed to it that Umeagbalasi compared himself to CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour. “There was never a moment where our leader compared himself to Christiane Amanpour,” the statement said. “Rather, he encouraged Ruth Maclean to aspire to the highest standards of journalistic integrity exemplified by Amanpour.”
On the identification of victims, Intersociety said it clearly explained how it determines religious identity and motives in attacks, particularly in regions with known Christian populations across northern Nigeria, including parts of Kano, Southern Borno, Southern Kaduna, Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi and Kwara States.
“We reminded her that we are not a media organisation but human rights trackers and monitors operating since 2009,” the organisation said, adding that its reports are thematic and based on carefully determined criteria.
The group also challenged the New York Times’ assertion that many Boko Haram victims were Muslims, describing it as “totally incorrect” based on available statistics between 2009 and 2017. Intersociety cited figures indicating that a significant number of victims were Christians, including thousands of Igbo Christians living in northern Nigeria.
Referencing the June 2020 report of the Church of Brethren in Nigeria, Intersociety noted that “8,600 church members were killed by Boko Haram between 2014 and 2020,” with more than 300 church districts destroyed. It added that over 200 of the 274 Chibok schoolgirls abducted in 2014 were members of the same church.
On the abduction of 24 schoolgirls in Kebbi State, Intersociety said it never claimed that “many” of the victims were Christians, but rather expressed concern that some Christian girls could have been involved, given that the school was a government institution in an area with indigenous Christian communities.
The organisation also strongly rejected an allegation that it described Fulanis as “animals” or suggested they be confined to one state. According to Intersociety, its position on cattle ranching was misrepresented, stressing that it merely suggested Niger State as a possible location for a large-scale, modern cattle and dairy industry if the policy was genuinely non-jihadist in intent.
Finally, Intersociety clarified that it reported an estimated 19,100 churches attacked, burned or destroyed since 2009, not “close to 20,000,” as stated in the New York Times report. It added that its reference to an estimated 100,000 churches in Nigeria was contextual and not part of its core findings.
“People are free to agree or disagree with our findings,” the statement concluded. “But false attribution and misrepresentation are unacceptable and dangerous.”