The group clarified that the Igbo people had no involvement in President Donald Trump’s campaign against terrorist networks or in the alleged Christian genocide claims in Nigeria. While commending ongoing U.S.–Nigeria collaboration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ohanaeze emphasized that no Igbo citizen provided intelligence for the U.S. airstrike on ISIS terrorists in Sokoto on Christmas Day 2025.

The organisation expressed concern over the New York Times’ report, which named an Onitsha-based screwdriver trader, “Emeka,” as a source of intelligence for the U.S., calling it misleading and potentially inflammatory.

In a statement issued by Ohanaeze’s Deputy President-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and National Spokesperson, Chief Chinyereze Ohia, the group described the claim as “laughable, nonsensical, and a calculated attempt to scapegoat Ndigbo for Northern banditry linked to ISIS.”

Ohanaeze stressed that such reporting risks stoking ethnic tensions in Nigeria, recalling past injustices against the Igbo, including the 1966 pogroms, which were exacerbated by misrepresentations in international media.

The organisation further noted that while Igbo people have been victims of violence, many Northern-based organisations, churches, and diaspora civil rights groups also advocate against Christian genocide, making the targeting of Emeka and the Igbo community unfair and unfounded.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo called on all Igbo civil rights groups to refrain from commenting on U.S.–Nigeria security operations until the Igbo community’s integrity is fully restored and urged the New York Times to correct its reporting.

“The Igbo people support efforts to combat terrorism and enhance Nigeria’s global image, but we reject being wrongfully implicated in international media narratives that echo past anti-Igbo conspiracies,” the statement concluded.