A few weeks after a US lawmaker had alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded the terrorist group, an allegation which had led to several reactions and counters, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, has dismissed allegations, stating that nothing validates such weighty claim.
Mills, who met with members of the Nigeria Governors Forum in Abuja on Wednesday night, stated that there was no evidence to back up the allegations.
He claimed that no country condemns Boko Haram’s crimes more fiercely than the United States and promised that if any evidence is discovered, the US government will collaborate with the Nigerian government to investigate.
“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.”
