Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have commenced moves to investigate the alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds released under United States government-supported programmes in Nigeria.
The two law enforcement agencies reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening intelligence sharing and operational cooperation to investigate alleged financial irregularities involving organisations that received funds under programmes supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The development followed a meeting on Thursday, when Marcus Maccain, Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché of the FBI, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE I), Bawa Usman Kaltungo.
Speaking during the interactive session, Maccain said the visit was aimed at strengthening existing cooperation between the two countries in investigating alleged financial irregularities involving organisations that implemented USAID-supported programmes, particularly interventions targeting HIV and tuberculosis.
He said the need for closer collaboration followed the decision by the United States government in 2025 to shut down some USAID programmes.
According to him, the termination of the programmes raised concerns over the management of funds that remained with some implementing organisations after the programmes were discontinued. Maccain said some of the organisations were suspected of mismanaging or diverting funds that had been provided to them before the affected programmes were shut down.
“We are seeking stronger engagement with the EFCC to establish how the funds were managed and identify possible financial misconduct arising from the termination of the programmes,” he said.
Also speaking, Jeremy Kennon, Special Agent, Office of Inspector General, Department of State, said the United States and Nigerian governments had previously entered into an agreement to support efforts to combat HIV and tuberculosis. He explained that the Department of State and the Nigerian government provided funding to organisations responsible for implementing programmes under the agreement.
Kennon said some of the organisations used the funding to establish one-stop centres for HIV treatment. He, however, said subsequent reviews had raised concerns about inflated budgets and other financial irregularities in Kano State and several other states.
He stressed that the concerns were not limited to Kano State or Nigeria, noting that similar issues had been identified in different parts of the world. According to him, the FBI was interested in establishing a long-term working relationship with the EFCC on the investigation, including reciprocal information sharing between both agencies.
“We’ll like to work with the EFCC on this on a long-term basis, and we’ll be sharing information with you; not just getting information from you,” Kennon said.
Responding, Kaltungo welcomed the delegation on behalf of the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, and described the relationship between Nigeria and the United States as long-standing, particularly in the area of law enforcement cooperation.
He assured the FBI delegation that the EFCC would investigate allegations surrounding the diversion or mismanagement of USAID funds across Nigeria and trace the movement of the funds to their ultimate beneficiaries.
Kaltungo said tracing the funds and identifying their beneficiaries would enable investigators to determine how the money was spent and whether it was deployed for the purposes for which it was provided. He said the investigation would also establish whether any portion of the funds was mismanaged or diverted following the cancellation of the programmes.
Kaltungo further assured the delegation that the investigation would be coordinated and would cover all states where the affected organisations and programmes operated. He said the EFCC would work with the FBI to follow the financial trail and establish the facts surrounding the alleged diversion or mismanagement of the funds.
