Following allegation by United States Senator Ted Cruz that the Nigerian government may be sponsoring Boko Haram insurgency, former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has dismissed the claims, describing the allegation as “false, unfair, and lacking any credible evidence.”
Omokri stated this during a press conference yesterday in Abuja, where he was joined by the former Republican Mayor of Blanco, Texas, Mike Arnold, and the Secretary-General of the Jama’at Nasril Islam (JNI), Prof. Khalid Aliyul.
Omokri challenged the US lawmaker to provide evidence to support his claims.
He said, “A genocide is when you have a deliberate act of policy by a state actor or people connected to state actors against a particular ethnicity or religion.
“The claim is not true. So, if you ask me whether there is genocide in Nigeria, of course there isn’t. However, if you believe that Nigerian state officials are facilitating terror, mention them, name them. Help us name them,” he said.
According to him, Cruz’s statements were not only misleading but also damaging to Nigeria’s image and counterterrorism efforts.
“I believe Senator Cruz means well — that’s my personal belief — but he doesn’t have the right information.
“If he knows the names of Nigerian officials who are facilitating genocide, he should name and shame them, because he claimed to be aware of them,” Omokri said.
Omokri further argued that the Obama administration bore responsibility for the rise of Boko Haram’s strength in Nigeria.
“In Nigeria, due to policies unleashed by the Obama administration, we have had security issues, and we are fighting them. We’re doing the best that we can,” he said, stressing that the current administration has continued to combat terrorism through de-radicalisation and security reforms.
On his part, Mayor Arnold while presenting a report titled; “Formal Statement On Widespread Violence And Displacement In Nigeria,” revealed that he has made several trips with his team across cities, villages and remote encampments in Nigeria and have interviewed governors, ministers, traditional rulers, and former presidents.
“I believe Nigeria has a bright future. I believe in Christian-Muslim harmony. I believe good people of every tribe and faith must stand against this evil. But first, we must name it.”
Arnold then called for a stronger unity among Nigerians in confronting terrorism, urging both Christians and Muslims to see themselves as allies against a common enemy rather than rivals divided by faith.
While clarifying that he does not speak on behalf of the U.S. government, Arnold expressed confidence that the U.S. President Donald Trump would be “very amenable” to supporting Nigeria if formally approached by its government.
“I am pretty certain that President Trump would be very amenable to providing all the assistance that Nigeria needs. If Nigeria asks for it — again, I don’t represent the government — but I can see what he’s been bringing is peace. That’s his mission, and he could probably help here,” Arnold said.
He emphasized that the fight against terrorism requires both national resolve and international cooperation, adding that the United States “would be happy to help if the Nigerian government would step forward and ask for help.”
“There are victims on both sides. The way forward is to stand on the truth together and fight those that would kill us if we don’t follow them. Christians and Muslims have a common enemy. There’s no reason there should be quibbling. It should bring unity to this country to fight a common enemy and not fight each other,” he stated.
Arnold stressed that such atrocities demonstrate that both Christians and Muslims are victims of extremist violence and must therefore unite in confronting terrorism.
Also speaking, Prof. Khalid Aliyu of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) condemned claims of “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.
“It sounds really very strange for such an unverified claim. that there is Christian genocide in Nigeria. It is very dangerous to change the narrative from criminality to ethnic or religious identity,” he said.
He described the allegations as “baseless” and warned that they could inflame existing tensions.
“Lumping a baseless claim onto certain people does not hold water. This claim is intended to create bad blood and to further deepen the challenges we are going through in this country,” Aliyu added.
