Ex-US Mayor, Mike Arnold accuses Britain of silence over Nnamdi Kanu’s imprisonment

Crime Diary, International, North America, Politics

INTERNATIONAL (NPA) — March 24, 2026 — Mike Arnold, founder of Africa Arise International and former mayor of Blanco City, Texas, has accused Britain of deliberate silence over the imprisonment of British citizen Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in Nigeria.

Arnold, a vocal critic of Christian persecution in Nigeria, on Tuesday, published a lengthy piece titled “Great Britain’s Dirtiest Secret.” He described Kanu, a British passport holder and founder of IPOB — the Indigenous People of Biafra — as a peaceful advocate for Igbo rights and independence. Broadcasting legally from London, he alleged that Kanu’s movement was declared a terrorist organisation in 2017 by then‑President Muhammadu Buhari without trial or evidence. Though courts later dismissed the designation, damages were awarded, and IPOB’s activities continued.

Arnold condemned Kanu’s abduction from Kenya in 2021 without extradition proceedings, his conviction in November 2025 under what he alleged was a repealed law, and his transfer to Sokoto prison, far from family and legal counsel. He questioned Britain’s silence in all these, noting no statement, briefing, or sanctions, despite similar actions against Russia, Myanmar, and China.

The release emphasised the vitality of the Igbo people, describing them as dynamic and entrepreneurial, yet marginalised for decades. 

Arnold further accused Britain of allegedly prioritising oil and Shell’s pipelines over millions of lives during the Nigeria-Biafra War, insisting that reparations and autonomy are overdue. He argued that Biafra represents justice, not instability, and warned that Washington’s reluctance to address it stems from fear.

He broadened the critique to Nigeria’s diverse ethnic groups — Yoruba, Tiv, Berom, Kanuri, and others — all deserving freedom and self‑determination. 

According to him, Britain’s 1970 victory left the Igbo dispossessed, with systematic marginalisation continuing: no Igbo president, underrepresentation in federal institutions, and environmental devastation in the oil‑rich southeast,’ he wrote further.

Arnold contrasted the poverty in the Igbo homeland with the success of the Igbos in diaspora, whom he highlighted as reputable doctors, engineers, and professionals thriving in America and Britain. He concluded that the problem with Nigeria lies not with the people but with a system designed to suppress them, comparing Nigeria’s tribal divisions to America’s racial ones — both tools to keep the oppressed divided.

Recently, Arnold and his former associate, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Mexico, Reno Omokri, publicly clashed over widespread allegations of Christian killings in Nigeria — a controversy that ultimately drew the attention of a U.S. congressional inquiry.