Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural organisation of the Igbo people, has warned international media outlets against reporting it says could stoke ethnic tensions in Nigeria, calling for an unreserved apology and immediate retraction from The New York Times over a report that allegedly linked an Igbo trader to U.S. military action against ISIS elements in the country.
Ohanaeze said it was compelled to speak out because of the dangerous implications of the publication, which it described as an attempt to scapegoat the Igbo and revive stereotypes with grave historical consequences.
The organisation stated, with unyielding clarity, that the Igbo people are neither participants in nor complicit with President Donald Trump’s campaign against terror networks and the alleged acts of Christian genocide in Nigeria.
While commending the ongoing partnership and collaboration between the United States and the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the pan-Igbo group stressed that it was necessary to clarify that no Igbo individual supplied intelligence relating to the U.S. bombing of ISIS terrorists in Sokoto on Christmas Day 2025.
According to Ohanaeze, its concerns were heightened by the timing and manner of the New York Times publication, which suggested that an Onitsha-based screwdriver trader, identified as Emeka, provided intelligence to President Trump through U.S. channels.
These concerns were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Ohanaeze’s factional Deputy President-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and the organisation’s National Spokesperson, Chief Chinyereze Ohia, and made available to journalists.
The group said the claims appeared to be a calculated attempt to implicate Ndigbo in actions targeted at Northern banditry linked to ISIS.
Ohanaeze further warned that, as a reputable international newspaper, the New York Times should not allow itself to be misled by individuals, including Nigerian freelance photographer Taiwo Aina, to propagate what it described as an unfortunate anti-Igbo agenda.
“The assertion that a purported ‘screwdriver seller’ in Onitsha could be the architect behind U.S. military action is at once laughable and patently nonsensical.
“Such irresponsible reporting carries the risk of igniting ethnic rivalry and exacerbating tensions across Nigeria. Ndigbo will no longer serve as targets for scapegoating in narratives shaped by international media conspiracies reminiscent of the tumultuous period of 1966.”
Ohanaeze said it found it necessary to set the record straight with utmost seriousness, emphasising that the Igbo people are not the originators of petitions or narratives surrounding alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria.
While acknowledging that many Igbo people have been victims of such atrocities, the organisation said it was important to recognise that several non-Igbo organisations and churches in Northern Nigeria, alongside diaspora-based pro-Christian and civil rights groups, are also actively campaigning against Christian persecution.
“Why has the New York Times chosen to single out Emeka? What ulterior motives might be at play? Are U.S. lobbyists complicit in this narrative?
“It is crucial to state unequivocally that the Igbo people do not oppose the collaboration between the U.S. and Nigeria in combating terror groups, nor do we resist efforts aimed at improving Nigeria’s global image by U.S. lobbyists.
“However, this anti-Igbo international media conspiracy must cease, irrespective of the parties involved or the consequences they may face.
“The echoes of the 1966 pogrom against the Igbo people remain vividly fresh in our collective memory.
“We are acutely aware of the roles played by certain reputable international media in wrongly designating the Nigerian coup of January 15, 1966, as an ‘Igbo coup,’ which subsequently incited the counter-coup of July 1966.”
The organisation noted that the narrative advanced by the New York Times appeared to follow a similarly dangerous path, adding that since that period, the Igbo have repeatedly been unfairly portrayed as the source of Nigeria’s national challenges.
Ohanaeze also called on Igbo civil rights organisations to refrain from commenting on security matters involving U.S.–Nigeria collaboration against ISIS and other banditry-related threats until, it said, the integrity and safety of the Igbo community are fully restored.
