ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) has accused the New York Times and its West African Bureau Chief, Ruth Maclean, of what it described as “grave misrepresentation, false attribution and injurious reporting” following a December 16, 2025 interview with its leadership.
In a strongly worded press release signed by its head, criminologist Emeka Umeagbalasi, the group said it was “shocked and deeply disappointed” by a report published by the New York Times on January 18, 2026, which it claimed bore no resemblance to what was discussed during the interview.
The press release was signed alongside other Intersociety officials, including Chidinma Evangeline Udegbunam, Obiajunu Joy Igboeli and Samuel Kamanyaoku.
According to Intersociety, Maclean was privately hosted in Onitsha on December 16, 2025, alongside a Christian photographer from Kwara State and ThisDay correspondent Dave Eleke, following approval by the organisation’s board. The visit coincided with the pre-Christmas recess period.
The organisation explained that the interview session lasted over three hours, followed by an additional one-hour photographic session at a market, stressing that none of the statements attributed to it in the January 18 report reflected the substance of the discussions.
Intersociety also took exception to what it described as attempts to politicise its long-standing documentation of killings and attacks on Christians in Nigeria, insisting that its reports, dating back to 2009, are rooted in international best practices under the United Nations and African Union human rights frameworks.
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“Our work has nothing to do with Donald Trump, American partisan politics, or ideological divisions in the United States,” the group stated, adding that religious freedom remains a universal right that benefits both Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
The organisation reaffirmed its figures, stating that since 2009, an estimated 125,000 Christians and 60,000 Muslims have been killed outside the protection of religious freedom, while approximately 19,100 churches have been attacked, destroyed or burned.
A major point of contention, Intersociety said, was the framing of the New York Times report, which it claimed misleadingly linked the December 16 interview to United States airstrikes in Sokoto that occurred nine days later, on December 25, 2025.
The group questioned the journalistic basis for connecting the interview to the airstrikes, noting that the Nigerian government and its security agencies publicly acknowledged joint responsibility for the operation with the United States.
Intersociety warned that it would hold the New York Times and its West African Bureau Chief “vicariously liable” should any harm befall its leader, his family, or its offices in Onitsha, Enugu and Aguata, while also holding the Nigerian government and any implicated actors directly responsible.
The organisation went on to list what it described as specific falsehoods in the report, including the use of the pronoun “I” instead of “we,” which it said wrongly personalised institutional positions of Intersociety’s board and leadership.
It also denied claims that its data were often unverified or largely derived from secondary sources such as media reports and internet searches, explaining that its findings are based on a combination of primary field investigations and corroborated secondary sources, consistent with international human rights monitoring standards.
Intersociety said it deploys trained volunteer field researchers across several regions, including Southern Kaduna, Taraba, the South-East and South-South, citing recent investigations in Eha-Amufu and Ezeagu communities in Enugu State.
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The group further rejected claims that its leader compared himself to CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour, explaining that he merely encouraged Maclean to uphold global standards of journalistic integrity and professionalism.
On the issue of religious identity of victims, Intersociety said it clearly outlined its methodology for identifying affected Christian communities, particularly in predominantly northern states, using verified local knowledge, eyewitness accounts and community leadership confirmations.
It also dismissed assertions attributed to it regarding Boko Haram victims, insisting that available data between 2009 and 2017 showed Christians constituted a significant proportion of those killed, including thousands of Igbo Christians residing in northern Nigeria.
In support of this claim, the organisation cited a June 2020 report by the Church of Brethren in Nigeria, which documented the killing of 8,600 of its members by Boko Haram between 2014 and 2020, alongside the destruction of more than 300 church districts.
Intersociety further denied claims that it stated most of the abducted Kebbi schoolgirls were Christians, clarifying that it merely suggested the possibility of Christian victims based on the demographic composition of the affected area, as referenced during UK parliamentary religious freedom proceedings in June 2025.
The group also condemned what it described as a “grossly offensive falsehood” that it referred to Fulani people as animals or suggested their confinement to a single state, explaining that its position on cattle ranching policy was framed around national security and agricultural planning, not ethnic hatred.
Concluding the statement, Intersociety maintained that disagreement with its findings is legitimate, but insisted that misquoting and distortion undermine responsible journalism and place lives at risk.