Recent revelations have claimed that intelligence from Emeka Umeagbalasi, a screwdriver trader in Onitsha guided the U.S airstrikes in Nigeria.
On December 25, 2025, the U.S conducted precision airstrikes targeting Islamic State (ISIS)-linked camps in Sokoto State, northwestern Nigeria.
The operation, carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities, involved MQ-9 Reaper drones and other platforms launching GPS-guided munitions against militant sites in the Bauni forest area.
U.S officials described the strikes as a response to threats from ISIS affiliates infiltrating from the Sahel region, with President Donald Trump framing them as a defense against violence primarily targeting Christians.
Meanwhile, a report by The New York Times suggested that the chain of the U.S airstrikes in Nigeria can be reportedly traced back to Umeagbalasi, a 56-year-old screwdriver salesman and activist who operates a small tool shop in the bustling Onitsha Main Market, one of Africa’s largest commercial hubs in southeastern Nigeria.
As founder of the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety), Umeagbalasi has long advocated against targeted killings of Christians in Nigeria.
He claims to have documented over 125,000 Christian deaths since 2009, drawing from secondary sources such as news reports, advocacy groups like Open Doors, and online searches.
His reports and advocacy efforts gained traction among U.S. Republican lawmakers and Christian interest groups, contributing to the narrative of a severe religious persecution crisis.
In October 2025, the U.S redesignated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” for religious freedom violations, a move said to be reportedly informed in part by such data.
Trump later referenced these concerns when announcing the Christmas Day strikes, calling them a necessary intervention against “radical Islamic terrorism.”
The report said U.S lawmakers Riley Moore and Ted Cruz, whom Trump had asked to probe the Christian genocide in Nigeria, alongside congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, “have all cited his work”.
Umeagbalasi was quoted as saying he has documented 125,000 Christian deaths in Nigeria since 2009, based on research from Google searches, Nigerian media reports, secondary sources, and advocacy groups like Open Doors, a Christian organisation whose data Trump has cited.
He told the New York Times that he rarely verifies his data. He also acknowledged that he seldom travels to the regions where attacks have occurred and usually assumes the victims’ religion based on the location of the attack.
In an interview with The Sun, Umeagbalasi, when asked about the source of his data, pointed to “location and space of an incident or crime scene” and described his methodology as “one of the oldest natural methods in the world”.
The salesman said he has degrees in security studies, peace and conflict resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria, and described himself as a very “powerful” and “knowledgeable” investigator.
A self-acclaimed criminologist, Umeagbalasi is described as an expert in the report, where he claimed there is a “strategy to annihilate all Christians and Islamize Nigeria”.
He claimed 100,000 churches exist in Nigeria and about 20,000 of them were destroyed in the past 16 years. Asked about the source of his data, he simply said “I Googled it”.
However, this report is contradictory to the several intelligence channels explored by the U.S government since the designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
Recall that the United States Congress convened a hearing, titled “President Trump’s Redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’: A Serious, Well-Founded Wake-Up Call,” to discuss the state of religious freedom in Africa’s most populous nation.
The hearing was convened by the U.S House of Representatives Foreign Affairs’ Africa Subcommittee and chaired by House Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith.
During the Congress’s hearing on Nigeria’s CPC designation, lawmakers and Nigerian pastors brought forth harrowing testimony about cases of Christian genocide in the country and calls for immediate, tangible action from the Nigerian Government.
Also, the emergence of this report comes after the Federal government of Nigeria, under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, reportedly paid $9M for lobbying against Christian genocide claims in the country.
According to a report by the UK-based publication Africa Confidential, the Nigerian government secured a lucrative lobbying contract worth $750,000 per month (renewable, initially for six months) with the DCI Group. DCI Group is a US-based public affairs and lobbying firm.
The firm, which counts close Trump ally Roger Stone among its advisors, is tasked with advocating for U.S. support on issues including visa policy, military cooperation, trade, tariffs, and emphasizing the efforts of the Nigerian government to protect both Christians and Muslims while combating jihadist violence.
