“The Silence Of A Nation: Inside The U.S. Mission That Declared Nigeria’s Christian Killings A Genocide”

AT the Abuja Hilton on 14 October 2025, the usually placid conference hall crackled with unease. Cameras rolled, journalists leaned in, and a visiting American delegation led by former U.S. mayor Mike Arnold made an explosive declaration: “A Christian genocide is ongoing in Nigeria.”

For years, Nigerians have lived with the grim rhythm of violence—massacres in Plateau, razed villages in Benue, and waves of displacement in Borno and Kaduna. But rarely has an international mission used the word “genocide” so unambiguously. This report—part humanitarian, part indictment—sets out to unpack how the fact-finding team reached its conclusion, and what it means for Nigeria’s leadership, its divided communities, and a watching world.

A Mission Born of Alarm

Mike Arnold, a former mayor of Blanco, Texas, is no stranger to Nigeria. His statement begins with personal conviction: 15 visits since 2010, six major investigative missions since 2019, and years of working in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Through his non-profit Africa Arise International, Arnold claims to have documented more than 80 hours of filmed evidence—some of which, he says, will feature in an upcoming documentary titled “Me & Ms. Hanatu.”

According to Arnold, the mission’s purpose was simple but weighty: to determine whether the scale and nature of violence in Northern and Middle Belt Nigeria met the international legal definition of genocide.

Among his team were retired U.S. ambassador Lewis Lucke, humanitarian Pastor Jed D’Grace, and filmmaker Judd Saul—each bringing a mix of diplomatic, religious, and advocacy experience.

A Decade of Descent

Arnold’s report recalls his first encounter with Nigeria in 2010—a country then marked by cautious optimism, economic promise, and relative religious balance. Boko Haram existed but had not yet unleashed the waves of terror that would define the next decade.

By 2014, he argues, a “deliberate destabilisation” had taken root, fuelled by external influences and political transitions that emboldened extremist elements. Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and increasingly violent Fulani militias expanded their reach, leaving a trail of burned churches, shattered communities, and abandoned farms.

What began as terrorism evolved into occupation: entire Christian villages wiped off maps, replaced by new settlers. “We’ve seen churches levelled while mosques nearby remain untouched,” Arnold told the press. “That pattern is not random—it’s selective.”

Numbers Behind the Horror

The delegation’s fieldwork paints a grim demographic shift. Official United Nations figures estimate around 4 million displaced Nigerians, but Arnold contends that the true figure is far higher—hidden within “unregistered camps” the government refuses to acknowledge.

He alleges that many of these uncounted victims are Christians forced into informal settlements in Abuja, Plateau, and Benue. In these camps, he claims, international agencies are often blocked, and aid deliveries sporadically restricted.

In Ngoshe, a once-thriving farming town in Gwoza, Borno State, the team documented near-total devastation. Survivors, they reported, live under military protection, unable to farm or travel freely, while militants continue to occupy their ancestral lands.

“Farmer-Herder Clashes”—or Cover Story?

Perhaps the most controversial section of Arnold’s report takes aim at the phrase that has dominated Nigerian headlines for years: “farmer-herder clashes.”

According to the mission’s findings, this terminology has become a convenient euphemism—masking what they describe as systematic campaigns of ethnic and religious cleansing.

For centuries, herders and farmers coexisted with localized disputes, but what’s happening now, the report argues, is “a coordinated campaign of terror under the guise of grazing conflicts.”

Satellite imagery, field interviews, and humanitarian data, Arnold claims, reveal that Fulani extremist militias, not ordinary herders, are behind much of the killing and displacement. Their operations stretch from Kaduna to Taraba, with victims overwhelmingly identified as Christian villagers.

The Political and Economic Undercurrents

Beyond religion, the mission points to deeper economic motives—particularly “blood minerals.”
Illegal mining, especially of gold, tin, and lithium, has become a shadow economy worth billions. The report links part of this illicit trade to militant funding, noting that mining equipment often appears on cleared lands within days of attacks.

“The war isn’t just about faith,” Arnold said. “It’s about territory, resources, and political engineering.”

He accuses powerful interests of using violence to redraw local demographics, capture mineral-rich zones, and manipulate electoral maps—a process that he calls “genocide by slow motion.”

The Genocide Question

Under Article II of the UN Genocide Convention, genocide is defined as acts intended to destroy, in whole or part, a group based on ethnicity, religion, or nationality.

Arnold argues that the evidence in Nigeria—mass killings, targeted displacement, destruction of cultural sites, and deprivation of aid—meets that threshold.

International experts have made similar warnings. Reports from Open Doors, Genocide Watch, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom all highlight a pattern of escalating persecution against Christians in Nigeria, though few have gone as far as declaring it a legally recognized genocide.

Arnold’s pronouncement therefore raises the stakes. If accepted by international bodies, it could pressure foreign governments to reconsider aid, impose sanctions, or push for investigations under international law.

The Nigerian Government’s Dilemma

So far, Abuja has neither endorsed nor directly rejected Arnold’s conclusions. Officials typically describe the crisis as “complex insecurity driven by criminal elements.” Critics argue that such language serves to downplay sectarian motives and avoid political fallout.

Security analysts, however, caution against oversimplification. “Labeling it genocide may be emotionally satisfying,” one expert told us off-record, “but it also complicates diplomacy and internal security operations.”

Still, for displaced villagers and bereaved families, these debates mean little. As one survivor in Plateau told Arnold’s team: “We don’t care what they call it. Just stop the killing.”

Between Faith and Politics

Arnold insists his work is not anti-Islamic. His organization supports education for both Muslim and Christian children in IDP camps. “We believe in peace,” he said. “But peace requires truth. And the truth is that Christians are being targeted.”

He acknowledges the danger of polarization but maintains that ignoring sectarian realities only fuels impunity.

The Call for Action

In his final words at the Abuja briefing, Arnold made a direct appeal to both Nigerian and international authorities:

“The campaign of violence and displacement in Northern and Middle Belt Nigeria constitutes a calculated, long-running genocide against Christian communities and other minorities. To deny this is to be complicit.”

Whether or not the world accepts that verdict, the message is clear: silence is no longer neutral.

Postscript: The Global Echo

Within hours of the briefing, excerpts from Arnold’s statement circulated online. U.S. lawmakers, faith organizations, and human rights advocates began calling for congressional hearings and a formal investigation under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act.

In Nigeria, reactions have been mixed—some praising the boldness of the declaration, others accusing it of oversimplifying a deeply layered conflict.

But beyond politics, one fact remains: entire communities across Nigeria’s heartland continue to vanish. And if the world cannot agree on what to call it, the killing fields remain just as silent.