The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has dismissed allegations that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is funding Boko Haram.
Speaking after a meeting with the Nigeria Governors Forum in Abuja on Wednesday night, Mills emphasized that the US has strict policies to prevent any American financial assistance from being diverted to terrorist groups.
The controversy began on February 13, when US Congressman Scott Perry accused USAID of indirectly funding groups like Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda.
Perry made the claim during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, alleging that $697 million annually was being misused.
He said:
“Who gets some of that money?
Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding.”
In response to Perry’s allegations, the Nigerian Senate summoned National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the heads of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to investigate the claims.
Mills firmly denied any evidence of USAID funding being misused.
In his words:
“There is no friend of Nigeria stronger in condemning Boko Haram’s violence and disregard for human life than the United States.
We have designated Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization since 2013, blocking the group from transferring assets to the US and allowing us to arrest and seize its members.
We cooperate in investigations with the Nigerian government.
I can assure you that we have strict policies and procedures to ensure that USAID funding or any other US assistance, whether from USAID, the Department of Defence, or the State Department, is not diverted to terrorist groups like Boko Haram.
“There is absolutely no evidence of such diversion, and if we ever had evidence that any programme funding was being misused by Boko Haram, we would immediately investigate it with our Nigerian partners.
“So, when it comes to Boko Haram, the United States stands with Nigeria in wanting to rid this country of the scourge that this organisation represents.”
