How New York Times Changed the Narrative of Christmas Genocide in Nigeria

New York Times erroneously used the word “I” instead of “We”: Our Leader informs that he allowed Ruth Maclean to visit his home on two conditions: knowledge of Dave Eleke to our leader and having met Ruth Maclean when she visited after ENDSARS killings-during which Ezu River body floating saga of Jan 2013 in Anambra State, specially investigated by Intersociety was also revisited; likewise, the Obigbo Nigerian Army massacre of Oct-Nov 2020, also specially investigated by intersociety.

2. New York Times lied when it falsely claimed that “our Board Chair admitted that he often does not verify his data”. On the contrary, he lucidly marshalled out during the intervie Intersociety’s data collection processes including “primary or directly generated and secondary or indirectly or third party generated”. 

3. New Times also lied that we said that our data was mainly based on “secondary data” including “Nigerian media, Christian interest groups and Google searches”. Our Leader cited several documented cases of our direct data collection across the country especially in Southern Kaduna, Taraba, South-East, South-South, etc., where our field research assistants have been deployed over the years. Recent cases included Eha-Amufu and Ezeagu in Enugu State. We also told New York Times that we are led by a team of expert-volunteers and field research assistants who are also volunteers and that our works priceless and beyond monetary inducements because most of us are occupationally professionals that are conscientiously contented.

4. New York Times lied against us as there was never a moment during the interview where our leader compared himself, a man, with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, a woman. Instead, we advised Ruth Maclean to fly higher as a female journalist of international repute and emulate Amanpour of CNN who has globally transformed herself into an “institution” and resisted putting her journalistic integrity to disrepute or on the mud.

5. Contrary to New Times’ Ruth Maclean, we vividly explained how we established or identified religious identities of Christian victims and their places such as knowing the Christian populated areas especially across the North. We cited and mentioned to her some native Christian places in Kano, Southern Borno, Southern Kaduna, Southern Gombe, Kastina, Southern Kebbi, Kwara, etc. We also informed her that we particularize and choose topics of our reports; whether on general insecurity or religious insecurity and determine the identities and motives of the attackers and their group and material victims using credible media reports and other credible sources such as Christian communities and their leaders, Christian persecution watchdogs and eyewitnesses accounts. We reminded her that we are not media outfit but human rights trackers and monitors in Nigeria since 2009.

6. Contrary to New York Times report, we told Ruth Maclean that as human rights trackers and monitors, we cannot be at all incident or religious crime scenes and that we deploy our team of field volunteers where we can and rely on other reports where we cannot, clearly in line with international best practices. It is also established that most of the Christian Persecution watchdogs working on Nigeria have consistently restricted their reports to Middle Belt whereas through monitoring and tracking, ours cover greater part of Nigeria and the role of armed state actors like police and the military and other counterinsurgency establishments.

7. New Times lied to the effect that “many of Boko Haram victims are Muslims”. This is totally incorrect. Available statistics especially from 2009-2017, most victims of BH were found to be Christians including estimated 3000-4000 pastoral Igbo Christians living in the North and killed by Boko Haram.