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The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has slammed The New York Times over its recentpiece claiming that Emeka Umeagbalasi, an Onitsha-based screwdriver seller influenced Donald Trump\u2019s decision to bomb Sokoto village on December 26.<\/span><\/p>\n The Igbo socio-political group on Tuesday said such an article shows the international media organisation is focused on fueling a repeat of the 1966 anti-Igbo pogrom.<\/span><\/p>\n In a statement issued on Tuesday, January 20, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the<\/span><\/p>\n Deputy President General of Ohanaeze and Chinyereze Ohia, its National Spokesman described the article as a misfire on the Federal Government\u2019s $9 million lobby deal.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the duo, the Igbos, mainly Nigerians from the Southeast region, have not and have they ever been involved in any capacity as intelligence providers or participants in the United States\u2019 efforts against terrorist networks in Nigeria.<\/span><\/p>\n Denouncing the implication by the New York Times that any Igbo man was instrumental in providing information that led to the launch of airstrikes by the American government in Sokoto, Ohanaeze described the attempt to implicate the Igbos on US\u2019 decision as unfair.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur concerns are deeply rooted in historical precedent. The recent New York Times article, which attempts to portray an Igbo individual, purportedly a \u201cscrewdriver seller\u201d from Onitsha, as a key source of intelligence for the US airstrikes, mirrors the insidious propaganda campaign that fueled ethnic tensions leading up to the tragic events of 1966. We find this narrative, particularly the timing and context of its dissemination, deeply troubling. <\/span><\/p>\n Ohanaeze Ndigbo warned the international media not to allow itself to be manipulated into disseminating inflammatory reports, as the article could have devastating consequences like fostering ethnic division and unrest within Nigeria. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe ludicrous portrayal of an Onitsha-based trader, acting as a crucial intelligence asset, is patently absurd and, frankly, insulting. It is a clear attempt to resurrect the age-old tactic of scapegoating the Igbo for the problems of Nigeria.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe haunting memories of the 1966 pogrom against the Igbo remain etched in our collective consciousness. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are acutely aware of the detrimental role played by certain international media organisations, who wrongfully portrayed the January 15, 1966, coup as an \u201cIgbo Coup,\u201d a narrative that contributed to the subsequent July 1966 counter-coup and the ensuing genocide,\u201d it added.<\/span><\/p>\n The group also noted that the New York Times\u2018 article is taking a similar dangerous path with the Igbos constantly and unfairly blamed for Nigeria\u2019s woes.<\/span><\/p>\n On behalf of the apex Igbo group, Isiguzoro and Ohia demanded an immediate and unreserved apology from the New York Times for such a \u201cmisleading and potentially dangerous article.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They also called for the retraction of the report while stating that Ohanaeze holds the New York Times accountable for any escalation of tensions that this article may incite, particularly within Northern Nigeria.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFurthermore, we implore all Igbo civil rights organisations to refrain from commenting on security matters pertaining to the US-Nigeria collaboration against ISIS and other terrorist groups in Nigeria, so that our concerns do not get twisted out of proportion, or to justify the article,\u201d the group said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo has slammed The New York Times over its recentpiece claiming that Emeka Umeagbalasi, an Onitsha-based screwdriver seller influenced Donald Trump\u2019s decision to bomb Sokoto village on December 26. The Igbo socio-political group on Tuesday said such an article shows the international media organisation is focused on fueling a repeat of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":239826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_5843.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}