An investigation by The New York Times has revealed that the United States relied on information from Emeka Umeagbalasi, a screwdriver trader in Anambra State, in carrying out airstrikes in Nigeria.
The report reveals that Umeagbalasi’s claims about widespread killings of Christians in Nigeria were repeatedly cited by senior US lawmakers and later used to support claims that the Nigerian government had failed to stop a supposed “Christian genocide
These allegations influenced former US President Donald Trump’s policy decisions on Nigeria, including its redesignation in October as a “country of particular concern” over religious freedom violations.
At the time, Trump publicly claimed that Christians in Nigeria were facing mass killings. “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed,” he said, blaming radical Islamist groups for what he described as widespread violence.
A month later, Trump escalated his rhetoric, warning that the US Department of War would invade Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” if the Nigerian government failed to stop the alleged killings.
On December 26, the United States eventually launched airstrikes targeting ISIS-linked fighters in north-western Sokoto State. US officials said the operation was carried out “at the request of Nigerian authorities”.
However, The New York Times report questioned the credibility of the data used to justify the genocide narrative. It described Umeagbalasi — founder of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) — as “an unlikely source” whose work helped promote what the paper called a misleading picture of religious violence in Nigeria.
Umeagbalasi runs Intersociety from his home alongside his wife. According to the report, US lawmakers Riley Moore and Ted Cruz, whom Trump asked to investigate the genocide claims, as well as Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, repeatedly cited his findings in official statements and reports.
Umeagbalasi told The New York Times that he had documented about 125,000 Christian deaths in Nigeria since 2009. He said his figures were based on Google searches, Nigerian media reports, secondary sources, and data from advocacy groups such as Open Doors, a Christian organisation whose statistics Trump also referenced.
He admitted that he rarely verifies the information independently and seldom visits areas where attacks occur. He also acknowledged that he often assumes the religion of victims based on the location of an incident rather than their confirmed identity.
According to the report, “If a mass abduction or killing happens in an area where he thinks many Christians live, he assumes the victims are Christians.”
In a separate interview with The Sun, Umeagbalasi defended his approach, saying his data comes from the “location and space of an incident or crime scene”, which he described as “one of the oldest natural methods in the world”.
He said he holds degrees in security studies and peace and conflict resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria and described himself as a “powerful” and “knowledgeable” investigator.
Umeagbalasi, who refers to himself as a criminologist, claimed there is a coordinated plan to “annihilate all Christians and Islamize Nigeria”. He also alleged that out of about 100,000 churches in the country, roughly 20,000 had been destroyed over the past 16 years — a figure he said he obtained through Google searches.
Ultimately, the report concludes that Trump’s decision to authorise airstrikes during the Christmas period was influenced by information supplied by three US lawmakers, all of whom had relied heavily on Umeagbalasi’s unverified data.
