Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South, has called on the Federal Government to investigate claims by US Congressman Scott Perry that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) might have funded Boko Haram and other terrorist groups.
During the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency last Thursday, titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” Congressman Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, alleged that $697 million in US aid was being funneled to terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda. He further claimed that USAID’s funding of $136 million to build 120 schools in Pakistan showed no evidence of the schools’ construction.
In response to these accusations, Senator Ndume, appearing on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, emphasized the gravity of the situation. “You can’t say it’s just an allegation; it’s more than that. That’s why the Nigerian government and the National Assembly, especially, need to look into it to investigate and verify the veracity of such a very weighty allegation,” Ndume stated.
He further highlighted the impact of Boko Haram, noting, “This development is very worrisome, especially because one of the terrorist organizations mentioned by Scott Perry is Boko Haram, and Boko Haram has ravaged not only the North-East but even other parts of Nigeria. You can remember Boko Haram bombed the police headquarters and the UN office in Abuja, and the casualties were enormous. So, the Nigerian government must be interested.”
Ndume also referenced past suspicions and actions, mentioning, “I’m worried, but the Nigerian security agencies have raised this indirectly several times. Even the Borno State government was wary of the operations of the NGOs.” He recalled intelligence-led raids on USAID and UN offices in Maiduguri during Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai’s tenure, and another raid on an NGO suspected of training staff in firearm use, concluding with, “We have been wondering for all these years where these people are getting money.”