By Olayomi Koik
By Mayor Mike Arnold, MBA
Founder, Africa Arise International / Africa Arise USA
Presented at Abuja Hilton, Tuesday, October 14, 2025 – 4:00 p.m. WAT
Contributors:
US Amb. Lewis Lucke (Retired)
Pastor Jed D’Grace
Mr. Judd Saul
Abuja, Nigeria
Former Mayor of Blanco, Texas, and founder of Africa Arise International, Mike Arnold, has issued a formal statement in Abuja addressing the ongoing violence, displacement, and alleged atrocities in Northern and Middle Belt Nigeria. The statement—presented at the Hilton Hotel—draws from more than five years of on-the-ground investigations and over 15 trips to Nigeria since 2010.
Arnold emphasized that his mission is independent, uncompensated, and fully transparent. “I have not been paid, promised, or influenced by any government or individual,” he stated, noting that his trip was personally invited by Nigeria’s National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, and social influencer Reno Omokri. Top U.S. officials—including Senator Ted Cruz, Congressman Chip Roy, and senior representatives from the White House and State Department—have been briefed on his visit and are receiving updates directly from him.
“This is not a political statement,” Arnold said. “It is a factual account based on firsthand evidence. What is happening in Nigeria today rises to the level of genocide.”
From Peace to Crisis
Arnold recalled that in 2010, Nigeria was “a beacon of rising prosperity and religious tolerance,” with minimal internal displacement. By 2014, however, the nation’s stability collapsed, following what he described as foreign political interference and a surge of radical Islamist activity, including infiltration from fighters displaced by the Libyan and Sahel conflicts.
He cited reports that Boko Haram and ISWAP—fueled by these foreign elements—were “not invaders, but invited,” contributing to what he termed “a deliberate campaign of destabilization.”
According to his findings, over four million Nigerians are now internally displaced, mostly from Christian farming communities. Many of these camps, he said, “are hidden and denied by authorities who label the victims as criminals.”
Documented Field Work and Testimonies
Since 2019, Arnold and his team have conducted field missions across multiple Nigerian states—Jos, Gwoza, Bokkos, Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt—interviewing survivors, governors, traditional rulers, and community leaders. They operate two schools serving displaced children, with a third under construction, providing free education to over 550 students.
His organization has also recorded more than 80 hours of video testimony documenting killings, burned villages, and destroyed churches. “We have filmed IDP camps that both the Nigerian government and the UN deny exist,” he said.
Pattern of Targeted Destruction
Arnold outlined a consistent and disturbing trend:
- Churches destroyed while mosques remain untouched.
- Christian homes burned while militants resettle captured land.
- Authorities excusing or denying attacks.
He claimed these patterns constitute a “faith-based genocide,” primarily targeting Christians and moderate Muslims resisting extremism.
Drivers of Violence
Arnold attributed the crisis to three key forces:
- Radical Islamic Expansion – Militant groups advancing jihadist ideology under political protection.
- Illicit Resource Exploitation – An estimated $9 billion in illegal mining revenues funding violence and corruption.
- Political Manipulation – Forced demographic changes through displacement, redistricting, and occupation of captured territories.
He criticized the term “farmer-herder clashes” as a “dangerous euphemism,” calling it “a deliberate attempt to downplay jihadist terror and genocide.”
Fulani Militias: Nigeria’s Greatest Internal Threat
According to Arnold, the Radical Islamist Fulani Ethnic Militia has overtaken Boko Haram and ISWAP as the most lethal terrorist force in Nigeria. Supported by political protection, he said, these groups “systematically erase Christian farming communities” across the Middle Belt.
“Satellite images and survivor testimonies confirm that this violence is organized, strategic, and sustained,” Arnold stated.
Calling Out Complicity
Arnold accused officials and certain media outlets of deliberately sanitizing massacres as “conflicts” and labeling displaced survivors as “vagrants.”
“This is not confusion—it is complicity,” he said. “To play word games while people die is beyond obscene.”
A Legal and Moral Declaration
Citing Article II of the UN Genocide Convention, Arnold concluded that the violence meets the legal definition of genocide:
“The evidence is undeniable—targeted killings, destruction of homes and churches, denial of aid, and the systematic erasure of Christian identity.”
He called upon Nigerian and international authorities to recognize and act on the crisis, urging unity among Nigerians of all faiths to reclaim peace and justice.
“I believe Nigeria has a bright future,” he said in closing. “But first, we must name this evil for what it is. Here I stand—I can do no other. So help me God.”
References:
(Citations 1–15 as provided in the full report)
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