United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has refuted claims made by U.S. Congressman Scott Perry alleging that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides funding to Boko Haram and other terrorist organisations.
Gatekeepers News reports that on Wednesday during a meeting in Abuja with members of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Mills responded to Perry’s accusations, which pointed to USAID’s annual budget of $697 million and its financial activities, including cash payments to Islamic schools (madrasas).
Perry on February 13, suggested that these funds could have inadvertently supported extremist training camps and terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS.
“Who gets some of that money? Your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, and terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding,” Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, claimed during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.
Mills emphasised that there is no evidence to substantiate these allegations and affirmed that the United States is strongly opposed to Boko Haram’s violent actions.
He also assured that should any credible evidence arise, the U.S. government is committed to collaborating with the Nigerian government to investigate further.
“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,” Mills said.
“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.
“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.”
