- Senator Ali Ndume has voiced concerns about the claim that the USAID has financed terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, through annual funds amounting to $697 million
- Ndume, in an interview on Sunday, urged the Nigerian government to investigate what he described as a weighty allegations by the US Congressman Scott Perry
- The Borno senator also urged the Bola Tinubu's government to focus on becoming self-sufficient rather than relying on foreign aid
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
The lawmaker representing Borno South Senatorial District, Ali Ndume, has asked the Federal Government to probe a claim by US Congressman Scott Perry that aborted United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded terrorist organisations, including Boko Haram in Nigeria.
USAID's link to Boko Haram: Ndume demands probe
Perry claimed that the USAID financed the terrorist groups, through annual funds amounting to $697 million.
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Reacting, Ndume, the former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army said on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme that:
“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.”
Buttressing his point, Ndume insisted that the Nigerian government led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should be interested in the US congressman’s revelation.
Senator Ndume said:
“This development is very worrisome, especially because one of the terrorist organisations 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.”
‘Nigeria should give aid, not receive it’
Meanwhile, Ndume, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker, also said millions have been displaced and over 50,000 killed in about two decades since the terror war started in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states in Nigeria’s insurgent-prone North-East zone.
However, Ndume maintained that Nigeria should be giving out humanitarian assistance to other countries and not receiving them.
“This issue of relying on aid from other countries is not even good for us because Nigeria, by now, is supposed to be the one that is giving out aid and not receiving aid,” he said.
Boko Haram sponsors: Security expert rubbishes US lawmaker's claim
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Sadeeq Shehu, a top Nigerian security expert, asserted that there is no credible evidence linking USAID to Boko Haram.
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In an interview with Legti.ng, Shehu stated that similar allegations about foreign involvement in Nigeria’s insurgency have remained unproven for over 14 years.
Shehu urges authorities to focus on concrete intelligence rather than unsubstantiated claims, emphasizing the need for evidence before accusing foreign entities of supporting terrorism in Nigeria.
