Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South Senatorial District, has urged the Federal Government to investigate claims by U.S. Congressman Scott Perry that the now-defunct United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram.
Speaking on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, Ndume stressed the seriousness of the allegation, stating, “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.”
Ndume, a long-serving member of the National Assembly, noted that concerns had previously been raised about foreign humanitarian agencies operating in Nigeria’s insurgency-affected North-East.
Expressing deep concern over their alleged involvement in terrorist activities, he recalled past incidents where security agencies had acted on intelligence regarding NGO operations.
“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.
“I’m worried, but the Nigerian security agencies have raised this indirectly several times. Even the Borno State government was wary of the operations of the NGOs.
“I remember during the period of (Lieutenant General Tukur) Buratai, the Nigerian Army got intelligence and even raided the office of USAID or United Nations in Maiduguri. There was also a time when the governor got intelligence and security agencies raided one NGO that was providing training to some of their staff on how to use guns.”
Ndume also questioned the sources of funding for these groups, stating, “We have been wondering for all these years where these people are getting money.”
He further argued that Nigeria should not be reliant on foreign aid but should instead be in a position to provide assistance to other nations.
“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.
“This is like a wake-up for all of us in government. We have everything; the only problem is the leadership. We need to fix that so that we’ll tap into what we have and be content.”
Ndume’s remarks come amid ongoing discussions about foreign aid and its impact on Nigeria’s fight against insurgency.
