Mike Arnold claims Britain’s role in Nigeria’s history and civil war could expose it to what he calls “the largest reparations demand in history”

A former mayor of Blanco City in Texas, Mike Arnold, has claimed that the United Kingdom is resistant to the push for Biafran independence due to fears of a potential $6 trillion reparations demand from Nigeria’s South-East region.

Arnold, who has publicly expressed support for the Biafran self-determination movement, made the assertion in a Facebook post titled “Britain’s bill is due,” published on his verified page.

According to him, the emergence of an independent Biafra would create a legal pathway for the South-East to pursue compensation against Britain—an amount he described as potentially “the largest reparations claim in human history,” estimating it at roughly twice the UK’s annual GDP.

He traced the roots of the alleged liability to the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria’s Northern and Southern protectorates under British colonial rule. Arnold described the merger, carried out by Lord Frederick Lugard, as a forced union that ignored cultural, religious, and political differences.

“In 1914, Lord Lugard drew a line around two incompatible civilizations… and called it Nigeria. Nobody was consulted,” he wrote.

Arnold further argued that during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), Britain backed the federal government to protect its oil interests. Referencing declassified Foreign Office documents, he alleged that the Harold Wilson administration covertly supplied arms to Nigeria while publicly denying involvement, and supported policies that contributed to the blockade of Biafra.

He claimed the blockade led to widespread starvation and the deaths of up to three million people, many of them children.

“Britain has never formally apologised, acknowledged its actions in education, or paid compensation,” Arnold stated.

Breaking down his $6 trillion estimate, Arnold cited several components, including alleged lost oil revenues, compensation for war casualties, long-term structural impacts of colonial rule, and damages linked to humanitarian obstruction and military support.

He concluded that a sovereign Biafra—or any recognised authority representing the South-East—could seek redress at the International Court of Justice.

“That,” Arnold added, “is why Britain does not want the Biafra question revisited.”