Due to claims that USAID is sponsoring the terrorist organization Boko Haram, the Senate has invited the heads of the National Security Adviser, the National Intelligence Agency, and the Defence Intelligence Agency to testify before it.
It has been alleged that USAID finances international terrorist organizations like al-Qaeda and Islamic State, as well as their regional affiliates like Boko Haram in Nigeria.
Senator Ali Ndume made a motion urging an immediate investigation into claims that international organizations, notably the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), may be providing financial support to terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram.
Legislators voiced their worries at the plenary about a widely shared video of U.S. Congressman Scott Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, accusing USAID of funding terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, during a congressional session.
Ndume pointed out that this assertion was made soon after General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, expressed concern about the funding and training of terrorist organisations in the nation by foreign entities.
The US congressman made the accusation a few days ago that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) finances international terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda and Islamic State, as well as its regional counterparts like Boko Haram in Nigeria.
During the inaugural session of an advisory body created by President Donald Trump to cut US government spending, Perry, last week, said the USAID’s annual budget of $697 million including cash shipments to madrasas (Islamic schools), has inadvertently funded terrorist training camps and extremist groups.
The lawmaker is a member of Trump’s Republican Party and the American president has been accused by critics of trying to damage the integrity of institutions like the USAID and end their operations.
In January, Trump suspended all foreign aid for 90 days, explaining that the pause was to determine whether the use of those funds aligned with America’s interests.