Alleged USAID Terrorism Funding: Ndume Urges US Govt To Extend Investigations to Nigeria

By The9JaTREND

The senator representing Borno South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Ali Ndume has urged United States of America government to extend investigation to Nigeria to find out from where the action, is as to the veracity of such weighty allegations.

Senator Ndume’s concern amidst grave concerns over the disturbing claims by US Congressman, Scott Perry, that assistance from the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, was used to fund terrorist organisations around the world, including Nigeria’s Boko Haram.

Ndume also revealed that he would bring a motion of urgent importance during siting for the setting up of a “strong committee” to investigate Perry’s claim, insisting that the federal government should be interested in finding out the truth.

According to him, it is also only through investigation that it would be determined if there was a nexus between donor funds and international espionage in Nigeria.

Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, made the unsettling claim last Thursday during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, DOGE.

Speaking at the session titled, “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” which focused on alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, Perry said that $697 million in US aid was being funnelled to terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda.

He also alleged that USAID’s funding of $136 million to build 120 schools in Pakistan yielded “zero evidence” of the schools’ construction.

But Ndume, who was guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, said while responding to a question about how the federal government should go about it, said “the first thing is this; I’m planning to bring a motion on Tuesday if allowed – a matter of urgent importance – to set up a strong committee so that our security agencies like the office of the NSA, the DIA, the DSS, will be involved because that’s part of their responsibility, it’s not only internal security.

“And since the (US) government now is the one investigating the USAID, I’m sure they will cooperate; I think, extend their investigation to find out from here where the action is as to the veracity of such weighty allegation”.

Describing this development as very worrisome, “especially because one of the terrorist organisations mentioned by Scott Perry is Boko Haram, and Boko Haram has ravaged not only the Northeast, but even in Nigeria”, Ndume recalled how “the Boko Haram bombed the police headquarters and UN office in Abuja here”.

According to him, “The casualty is enormous, so the Nigerian government must be interested, and I’m worried. But the Nigerian security agencies have raised this indirectly several times and even the Borno State government was wary of the operations of the NGOs. And I remember during the period of ((Tukur) Buratai, Nigerian Army got intelligence and even raided, at one time, the office of the USAID or United Nations in Maiduguri. You remember that?

“And there was a time also, the governor got intelligence and raided one NGO that was providing training to some of their staff on how to use arms. And we have been wondering for all these years where are these people getting this money, besides the raids and the kidnappings that they do? And its worrisome.

“And now that the United States Congressman came out to speak out about this, you can’t say it’s just an allegation; it’s more than that, and that’s why the Nigerian government and the National Assembly especially, need to look into it and investigate and verify the veracity of such very weighty allegation…

“Scott Perry said one time, they were spending 697 million dollars. That translates into over one trillion. And when you see the operations, the modus operandi of this Boko Haram, you begin to think they must be getting supplies”.

Asserting that the suspicions had always been there, the former chairman of the Senate  Committee on Army, noted that “The CDS, COAS, the chief of air staff, all of them have served at one time in the theatre, they call it the theatre, that is in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe which is the epicentre of Boko Haram, and they have been suspicious about the activities of the NGOs in those states because if you see even their vehicles, they draw AK47 and cross it, that is, no gun, but they go to the people with guns. And then they go unsupervised.

“They don’t want to account to the state government. They don’t want to account to anybody. I understand they don’t even account to the minister here in the Federal Ministry of humanitarian affairs where they are supposed to be working together jointly and reporting to.

“We have been suspicious of their activities. Even though we needed that help but then, not at the expense of the security of our people. As I told you, the statistics we have is that over 50 000 people have been killed, over 2.5 million people have been displaced. And right now, as I’m speaking to you, we have refugees, Nigerian refugees in Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

“For 10 years, this thing continued unabated. In fact, recently, when I went home, they killed, I think six people, as a result of the use of EIDs. They told me that these people came with new Toyota Hilux. They have new AK47 rifles. At one time, you see Boko Haram with AK49 and brand-new rifles.

“And they don’t have an airport, they don’t have a seaport where you think it’s being smuggled. So, their activities are actually something that the Nigerian government need to be interested especially with this revelation”.

Suggesting that Nigeria should stop relying on aids from other countries, Ndume, former Senate Chief Whip, contended that this “is not even good for us because Nigeria by now is supposed to be the one that is giving out aids, not the one receiving aids”, stressing that “this is like a wake-up call for all of us to stand up to government”.

According to him, “We have everything; the only problem is in the leadership, and I think we need to fix that one so that we’ll tap into what we have and be contented with it”.