Arnold, founder and Chairman of Africa Arise International (Nigeria) and Africa Arise USA, made the remarks during a presentation at a congressional hearing. A video and excerpts of his presentation were later shared on his Facebook page.
In his address, Arnold traced Nigeria’s trajectory from pre-colonial times to the present, expressing concern that authorities are not doing enough to address the spread of radical Islamic insurgency. He also rejected descriptions of violence in parts of the country as mere farmer-herder clashes.
According to him, “the real narrative is this: Nigeria is in the throes of an Islamic conquest”.
Citing what he described as “examples of ongoing failures and impunity,” Arnold pointed to the case of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, as evidence of a selective approach to justice.
Arnold said, “Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and founder of Radio Biafra. British-Nigerian dual national. Abducted from Kenya in June 2021 in what international human rights organizations have characterized as an extraordinary rendition. Returned to Nigerian custody.
In November 2025 convicted on terrorism-related charges and sentenced to life imprisonment. Law under which portions of his conviction were based had been nullified by an Enugu High Court in 2023. Within 24 hours of sentencing, transferred approximately 800 kilometers to Sokoto — seat of the Sokoto Caliphate— far from his family and legal counsel.”
The former mayor contrasted Kanu’s prosecution with what he described as the inaction of authorities in another case involving a religious cleric in northern Nigeria.
“A northern Nigeria-based Islamic cleric publicly placed a ₦1 million (approximately $670 USD at April 2026 exchange rates) bounty on the head of an unnamed Christian pastor accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad.
“Following public calls for the cleric’s arrest, he publicly doubled the bounty to ₦2 million in a Hausa-language video recording, openly daring Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest him,” Arnold said.
“No charges filed, no arrest executed, no formal government condemnation issued.”
He further argued that the Nigerian government allocates significant resources toward rehabilitating former insurgents, while victims of violence remain neglected.
The Nigerian government goes to great expense to “rehabilitate” the killers, while millions of innocent displaced victims are denied, neglected, and dying, Arnold stated.
Arnold urged US lawmakers to take a more active stance on the situation in Nigeria, calling on Congress to “demand the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other prisoners of conscience”, and to “offer asylum protection to them and others threatened by this (Nigerian) regime”.
He also criticised the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, accusing him of failing to take stronger action against ongoing violence and of supporting the expansion of Sharia into predominantly Christian regions.
“Has (Sultan) never decreed an end to the killing or mineral looting in his domain, but has called social media a terrorist group: When they challenged his authority over them, the Sultan issued a single fatwa in 2015 discouraging Boko Haram recruitment, which reportedly contributed to a recruitment decline in Kano and Sokoto. He has not issued a subsequent authoritative condemnation of other jihadi groups operating in his hereditary domain despite the continuation of mass killings.
“In 2025 he publicly supported the push for Sharia in traditionally Christian, Southern states. In January 2025, Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III publicly supported the establishment of Sharia arbitration panels in southern Nigerian states including Ekiti and Oyo, stating the panels would cater to “millions of Nigerian citizens” – a direct expansion of Islamic legal structures into traditionally non-Sharia regions,” Arnold said.
