AN American fact-finder and former mayor of Blanco, Texas, Mike Arnold, has described former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, as a pathological liar, dismissing reports allegedly circulated by the social media influencer and his associates, claiming that he (Arnold) had “debunked” allegations of genocide against Christians in Nigeria.
Arnold decried Omokri for attempting to manipulate facts and whitewash atrocities committed against Christian communities across the country.
Omokri, who served as media aide to former President, Goodluck Jonathan, had earlier argued during a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, October 14, also attended by Arnold, that claims of genocide in Nigeria were exaggerated, adding that incidents of violence in the country were not equivalent to genocide, comparing them to general crime rates in the United States (US).
He stated: “Saying there’s a genocide in Nigeria is like saying there’s genocide against Black Americans, because 30,000 of them are murdered each year in the US.
“If anyone insists it’s genocide, they should name names, not just make wild accusations.”
Omokri further claimed that international watchdogs, such as Open Doors International, had not labeled Nigeria’s situation as genocide, noting improvements in the country’s Global Terror Index ranking.
However, in a post on X on Wednesday, October 15, Arnold issued a firm rebuttal, saying Omokri’s version of events was “false, misleading and malicious.”
He wrote: “Sleazy Omokri, a pathological liar, will go down in history as the Joseph Goebbels of the Nigerian Christian genocide.
“His paid reporters are falsely claiming that I ‘debunked’ the genocide narrative.”
The American clarified that he led a fact-finding mission to Nigeria under Africa Arise International, visiting several states and internally-displaced persons (IDP) camps to gather evidence on ongoing violence, adding that his mission was independent and not politically motivated, despite being invited by Omokri.
“I came here with one instruction: To meet key people and tell the truth. The truth is not comfortable, but it’s what remains when propaganda fails.”
The US delegation, which also included Khalid Abubakar, Secretary General of Jamaat al-Nasir al-Islam, and American filmmaker, Jeff Gibbs, had briefed US lawmakers, including Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman, Chip Roy, before arriving in Nigeria.
Arnold insisted that his findings, compiled over five years of fieldwork and consultations with diplomats and human rights lawyers, clearly establish a “calculated, ongoing genocide” targeting Christian and minority communities in northern and Middle Belt Nigeria.
He stated: “What’s happening in Nigeria meets the international legal threshold for genocide under Article II of the 1948 U.N. Convention. To deny this reality is to become complicit in these atrocities.”
He dismissed the popular term, “farmer-herder clashes,” as “cynical doublespeak” used to disguise organised jihadist attacks and systematic displacement, adding: “Villages are being razed, churches destroyed and tens of thousands killed.
“Calling this a ‘clash’ is like calling Bosnia’s ethnic cleansing a neighbourhood dispute.”
Arnold vowed to submit his team’s full report to US policymakers and international human rights organisations, expressing hope for justice and national healing.
“Nigeria has a bright future. But we must first tell the truth. I believe in Christian-Muslim unity, and I believe good people of every tribe must stand against this evil.
“Here I stand, I can do no other. So help me God.”
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