By mercy Peter
The Independent Media and Policy Initiative (IMPI), a Nigerian think tank, has faulted the recent redesignation of Nigeria by the U.S.
President Donald Trump designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), following an alleged systematic killings of Christians in the country.
IMPI however said the U.S government decision was based on “jaundiced and obtrusive data” provided by groups with vested interests.
In a policy statement signed by its Chairman, Dr. Omoniyi Akinsiju, the organisation accused some local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of manipulating terrorism and faith-related fatality data to present Nigeria as a country engulfed in religious persecution.
According to IMPI, the groups behind the allegations have repeatedly released exaggerated statistics suggesting that thousands of Christians were being systematically killed in Nigeria every year; figures the think tank says are inconsistent with verified global terrorism data.
“We are concerned about the inauspicious propagation of terrorism-related deaths in a singular religious conflict situation,” IMPI stated.
“No single life is deserving of being extinguished for any reason. However, it is immoral to concoct all manner of death-related data to justify a point of view.”
The group alleged that the push to designate Nigeria as a CPC had become an “industry of falsehood,” driven by certain NGOs and advocacy networks to achieve political and religious objectives.
Citing multiple data sources, IMPI contrasted the inflated figures released by Intersociety and Open Doors with those from the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) an internationally recognised barometer for terrorism trends.
While Intersociety claimed that 5,068 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2022 and Open Doors reported 5,014, the GTI recorded 392 terrorism-related deaths in Nigeria for the same year — the lowest since 2011.
The think tank further highlighted the disparity in 2023 and 2024 figures.
It noted that while Intersociety reported 8,222 Christian deaths between January 2023 and January 2024, GTI recorded only 565 terrorism fatalities for 2024.
“This speaks to the industry of falsehood underpinning the advocacy to get Nigeria redesignated as a CPC,” IMPI said.
“While we condemn any loss of life, the practical reality is that GTI and Statista data cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be described as genocide.”
IMPI expressed disappointment that President Trump’s decision to redesignate Nigeria was influenced by what it described as “fictitious and manipulated data”.
“Based on this background, we find it challenging to accept President Trump’s decision to designate Nigeria as a CPC,” the organisation stated. “We expect the U.S. to verify and validate any data presented to the President before using it to make a policy decision.”
The think tank also accused some advocacy groups of deliberately inflating death tolls to stir religious tension and international sympathy, noting that such claims are not supported by independent and verifiable data sources.
Tracing the trend, IMPI said its researchers had discovered that since 2019, Intersociety had consistently released figures that were “never in tandem” with the GTI or the University of Ibadan’s Annual Report on Lethal Violence in Nigeria.
For instance, the GTI reported a 39.1% decline in terrorism-related deaths in 2019, while Intersociety still claimed there were between 1,000 and 1,200 “Christian deaths” during the same period.
“The import here is that Intersociety attributed virtually all reported fatalities to Christian deaths,” IMPI said.
“This deliberate inflation of data regarding killings in Nigeria is aimed at inflaming divisive passions among the people and justifying the CPC designation by the American government.”
The organisation recalled that the first CPC designation under Trump’s administration in 2020 also came despite “all statistical evidence indicating a reduction in terrorism-related killings, especially those linked to religious conflicts.”
IMPI concluded by urging the United States to adopt a “government-to-government engagement approach” to better understand the true nature of Nigeria’s internal security dynamics, rather than relying on interest-driven NGO reports.
“A better understanding of the situation in Nigeria through official diplomatic channels would likely lead to the U.S. withdrawing Nigeria from its CPC list,” the group said.
