EFCC, FBI Launch Probe Into Alleged Diversion of USAID Funds
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have agreed to jointly investigate the alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds provided under US government-supported programmes in Nigeria.
The decision followed a September 10 meeting in Lagos between an FBI delegation led by Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché Marcus Maccain and officials of the EFCC’s Lagos Zonal Directorate 2.
The investigation will focus particularly on organisations that received funding under programmes supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), including initiatives targeting HIV and tuberculosis.
According to the FBI, the probe became necessary after the US government discontinued some USAID programmes in 2025, raising questions over funds that remained with organisations implementing the projects.
US investigators suspect that some of the organisations may have mismanaged or diverted funds allocated before the programmes were terminated.
Jeremy Kennon, a special agent with the US Department of State’s Office of Inspector General, said the United States and Nigeria had previously entered agreements to support HIV and tuberculosis interventions, with funds provided to organisations implementing the programmes.
The EFCC’s Acting Zonal Director, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, assured the FBI delegation that the commission would investigate the allegations and trace the movement of the funds to their ultimate beneficiaries.
The EFCC said the investigation would cover states where the affected organisations and programmes operated, with both agencies working together to establish how the funds were spent and whether any were diverted from their intended purposes.
The joint investigation further strengthens law-enforcement cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in tackling cross-border financial crimes and tracing potentially misappropriated funds.
