- Richard Mills Jr, the United States (US) Ambassador to Nigeria, has dismissed allegations that a key agency in his country funds Boko Haram or other terrorist organisations
- Recently, US President Donald Trump moved aggressively to shut down 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 - Richards Mills, the United States (US) Ambassador to Nigeria, has said that there is no evidence to support the viral claim that the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been funding Boko Haram or any terrorist group in Nigeria.
As reported by Vanguard newspaper on Thursday, February 20, Mills stated that no country condemns Boko Haram’s violence more strongly than the US.
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The US envoy spoke on Wednesday night, February 19, when he met with members of the Nigeria Governors' Forum in Abuja.
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.
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.
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In a video he posted on his X (formerly Twitter) page, Garba wondered how USAID spent $824 million in 2024 in Nigeria.
Reacting to the allegations, Mills said:
“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.
“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."
He added:
“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.
“Let me be clear—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 organisation since 2013, blocking the group from transferring assets to the US and allowing us to arrest and seize its members.”
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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.
