Breaking: US Breaks Silence as Allegation Swirls Over USAID's Alleged Funding of Boko Haram

• The United States Mission to Nigeria has announced that the American government is set to investigate how past aid allocated to Nigeria and other countries has been utilised
• Recently, US President Donald Trump the US Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Prominent individuals had accused the USAID of financing terror groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda including their local affiliates such as Boko Haram

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public affairs and governance in Nigeria.

FCT, Abuja - The United States (US) on Tuesday, February 18, said comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to help verify that America's assistance reaches intended recipients.

In a tweet on its official X (formerly Twitter) page, the US mission in Nigeria said America condemned the violence and blatant disregard for human life perpetrated by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the most populous black nation on earth and the region. It said the secretary of state designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation on November 14, 2013, "to block the organisation’s assets and fundraising efforts, prosecute individual members, and restrict their travel to the US."

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The US promised to continue to work with Nigeria and regional partners to fight terrorism.

Legit.ng recalls that recently, a US congressman, Scott Perry, claimed that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded terrorist organisations including Boko Haram to the tune of $697 million annually.

In the same vein, Nigeria’s former minister of foreign affairs, Bolaji Akinyemi, reinforced the notion that foreign superpowers have actively worked to destabilise Nigeria, tracing this interference back to British colonial rule and the strategic selection of the country’s post-independence leadership.

His opinion came during an interview with Arise News on Monday, February 17, in the course of a discussion regarding Perry's recent allegation. Akinyemi noted that Nigeria’s geopolitical struggles were engineered as early as 1945 when the British deliberately chose to hand over power to a faction they could control.

Also, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former presidential aspirant of the party, Adamu Garba, agreed with the allegation.

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Garba said funds from USAID were used to procure weapons for Boko Haram, the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP), and other terrorist groups.

In a video he posted on his X page, Garba wondered how USAID spent $824 million in 2024 in Nigeria.

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Expert reacts to US lawmaker's controversial claim

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Sadeeq Shehu, a top Nigerian security expert, dismissed Perry's claim, arguing that there is no substantial evidence to back it up.

Shehu expressed scepticism about the repeated narrative that foreign countries, including the US, France, and the UK, are behind Boko Haram’s operations in Nigeria

Shehu emphasised that while the US is capable of influencing events in other nations when it serves its interests, this particular claim lacks credibility.

Source: Legit.ng