Senate Summons Security Chiefs Over Alleged Boko Haram Funding

ABUJA – The Senate President, Senator Godswill Obong Akpabio, on Wednesday, summoned Directors General of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Department of State Services (DSS), and the National Security Adviser (NSA) to brief senators on the alleged involvement of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the sponsorship of Boko Haram terrorist group.

Akpabio was responding to a motion by Senator Ali Ndume over a report in the social media by an American Congress man, alleging the involvement of USAID in the sponsorship of Boko Haram.

“I am convening an emergency closed session with the National Security Adviser, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Director-General of the Department of State Services, and Director-General of the Defence Intelligence Agency to provide an immediate briefing on the allegations surrounding USAID’s funding of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

We must get to the bottom of this matter, and I expect a thorough and transparent briefing from our national security leadership,” he said.

Akpabio said it’s only through thorough investigation that the truth can be established, adding that even if America has not taken an obligation, hook, line, and sink, Nigeria must also investigate to be sure.

“Because we won’t just keep quiet. If it is true that USAID has been funding Boko Haram in Nigeria. We have no business allowing them to have offices in Nigeria and before we can take decisive steps and also ask for recompense in particular, we must go deeper into the issue.

So it’s important that we get briefed by our intelligence community,” he said.

Earlier, Senator Ali Ndume while presenting the motion before the Senate noted that on Thursday, 13th February, 2025, the entire social media space was agog with trending video of a United States Republican Congressman, Scott Perry, representing Pennsylvania, alleging at the inaugural hearing of subcommittee on delivering on government efficiency, USAID has been funding terrorist organisations across the world, Boko Haram inclusive.

He said this allegation is coming on the heels of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, raising an alarm that Boko Haram terrorist groups are being sponsored and trained by international organisations.

Ndume also noted that over the years, the modus operandi of Boko Haram in Nigeria has been a source of great concern and their source of funding and operations have been shrouded in mystery.

According to him, the devastation caused by Boko Haram in the North-East region and other parts of the country, which includes the bombing of UN building in Abuja, and of course, the bombing of the Police Force Headquarters here in Abuja, among other attacks, led to loss of lives of Nigerians in thousands, unwarranted destruction on properties, which occasioned unprecedented internal displacement across the country.

He also recalls that the Federal Government over the years tried to put measures in place to curtail the activities of terrorist groups in the country by expending huge resources, which seem not to have yielded much result as the nefarious activities of terrorists continued unabatedly.

Ndume said the monumental devastation caused by Boko Haram in this country should be a matter of concern, as it has dented the image of this country among the comity of nations and for allegations to begin to emerge at this point in time that some international organisations are behind this unwholesome act, there is the urgent need for steps to be taken by the Federal Government to unravel the mystery behind this whole episode.

Senator Abdul Ningi, who was also a co-sponsor of the motion by Senator Ali Ndume, said it’s almost impossible to do justice to the issues raised by this motion unless the top brass of the security sector are invited to brief the Senate.

“The Senate needs to be briefed, first and foremost, by the heads of various security agencies in a closed-door session. I also don’t want this in the media because beyond the media, beyond what I know, beyond what you know, we have intelligence organisation, that is funded by this government,” he said.