By Ayorinde Oluokun
Trouble may be looming for some Nigerian non-governmental organisations, NGOs, especially those who have been involved in United States Government-supported programmes as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have revealed plans to probe alleged diversion of funds under the initiatives.
The focus of the investigation would be on financial irregularities involving organisations that had received funds under the programmes supported by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, particularly those connected with HIV and tuberculosis interventions, Dele Oyewale, spokesperson for the EFCC said in a statement on Friday.
According to him, the move to probe the alleged mismanagement of USAID funds followed visit of a delegation led by Macus Maccain, Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché, FBI, to the office of the Acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo on Thursday.
Oyewale said during the visit, EFCC, and FBI reaffirmed their commitment to deepening strategic collaboration, intelligence sharing and operational synergy in investigating the alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds provided under the United States Government-supported programmes.
Speaking during the courtesy call, Maccain said the visit was aimed, among other things, at strengthening existing cooperation in investigating alleged financial irregularities involving organisations that had received funds under the programmes supported by the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, particularly those connected with HIV and tuberculosis interventions.
He said the engagement became necessary following the shutdown of some USAID programmes by the United States Government in 2025.
According to him, the development subsequently raised concerns over the management of funds that remained with some implementing organisations after the programmes were discontinued.
He said some organisations were suspected of mismanaging or allegedly 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 the fight against HIV and tuberculosis, with the Department of State and the Nigerian Government providing funding to organisations implementing related programmes.
He said some of the organisations established one-stop centres for HIV treatment.
He, however, said subsequent reviews had uncovered concerns over inflated budgets and other financial irregularities in Kano State and several other states.
Kennon stressed that the concerns were not limited to Kano or Nigeria, noting that similar issues had been identified in different parts of the world.
According to him, the FBI was interested in developing a long-term working relationship with the EFCC on the matter, including reciprocal information sharing.
“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 “a long-standing one, particularly in the area of law enforcement cooperation.”
He assured the 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.
According to him, tracing the funds and identifying the beneficiaries would enable investigators to establish “how the money was spent; whether it was deployed for the purposes for which it was provided and whether any portion was mismanaged or diverted following the cancellation of the programmes.”
Kaltungo also assured the delegation that the investigation would be coordinated and would cover all states where the affected organisations and programmes operated.
He added that the Commission would work with the FBI to follow the financial trail and establish the facts surrounding the alleged diversion of the funds.
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