New evidence proving US support for terrorist groups.
“Abdulhamid Bayati” *: Republican US Congressman Scott Perry from Pennsylvania revealed in a hearing that billions of dollars in US aid have been diverted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to fund terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. He told the hearing, which was held by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, that the $697 million annual USAID budget goes to these groups and even terrorist training camps. Perry stressed that this funding goes to terrorists instead of helping with development and criticized this.
In a widely circulated video, Perry said: “Your money, $697 million annually, along with cash shipments, goes to religious schools, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan (active in Afghanistan) and terrorist training camps. This is what is being funded.”
Accordingly, the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has launched an investigation into the management of USAID funds in Nigeria and other recipient countries.
The revelation comes as Nigerian security officials last month asked the United Nations to identify and name Boko Haram’s financial backers.
General Christopher Musa, the Nigerian army chief of staff, has previously indicated that some non-governmental organizations are involved in financing the insurgency.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, General Musa said that many of the surrendered or captured Boko Haram members had foreign currency, indicating international financial support for the group. “More than 120,000 Boko Haram members have surrendered so far, and many of them came with cash,” he said. “Where did this money come from? How was it financed? How were they trained? How were they equipped?”
General Musa also warned of suspicious activities by some NGOs, citing cases where they had paid rent for properties in areas under the influence of insurgents for 10 years in advance. He called on the United Nations to conduct an independent investigation into the funding and training of terrorist groups such as Boko Haram.
Following the recent statements by Scott Perry, as well as the statements of General Christopher Musa, on Thursday, March 2, the Nigerian Senate summoned the heads of the country’s intelligence agencies, including the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Department of Homeland Security (DSS), and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to answer the allegations made by US Congressman Scott Perry.
According to the proposed USAID budget for 2025, about 89.27 percent of the total $602.95 million was allocated for health-related programs in Nigeria. Of this amount, $368 million was allocated for HIV/AIDS programs under the Global Health Program (GHP), of which $322 million was from GHP-State and $46 million from GHP-USAID. There was also $22 million for tuberculosis, $73 million for malaria control, $33.25 million for maternal and child health, and $22.5 million for family planning and reproductive health programs, but the Republican representative’s comments suggest that the figures were in fact a fabrication.
According to the Nigerian newspaper PUNCH, USAID allocated about $2.8 billion to Nigeria between 2022 and 2024. According to data from the US Foreign Assistance Dashboard, in 2024 the agency allocated $41 billion to 206 countries, including $780 million to Nigeria. In 2023, the figure was $72 billion to 209 countries, of which $1 billion went to Nigeria. Similarly, in 2022, $74 billion was allocated to 21,000 programs in 212 countries, of which Nigeria received $970 million.