The United States launched air strikes on ISIS targets in north-western Sokoto state, Nigeria, after relying on information from Emeka Umeagbalasi, a screwdriver trader in Onitsha, Anambra state, according to the New York Times.
Umeagbalasi, founder of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), has documented what he claims are 125,000 Christian deaths in Nigeria since 2009, though he admitted to rarely verifying his data and often assuming victims’ religion based on location. “If a mass abduction or killing happens in an area where he thinks many Christians live, he assumes the victims are Christians,” the report states. US lawmakers, including Riley Moore, Ted Cruz, and Chris Smith, cited his work while probing allegations of a Christian genocide, prompting President Donald Trump to redesignate Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” and warn of potential military action. On December 26, 2025, Trump ordered air strikes, claiming the attacks targeted Islamic extremists “at the request of Nigerian authorities.”
Umeagbalasi described his methodology as “one of the oldest natural methods in the world” and characterized himself as a knowledgeable investigator, asserting there is a “strategy to annihilate all Christians and Islamize Nigeria,” with thousands of churches reportedly destroyed over 16 years.