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US Embassy opens up over alleged USAID funding terrorism in Nigeria
Days after a US Congressman claimed that the USAID funded global terror groups including Boko Haram, the US Embassy in Nigeria has indicated that it probes all assistance given to Nigeria to ensure they reach “intended recipients.”
The embassy’s post on X was not categorical if it probed all USAID funding in Nigeria, including the one alluded to by the US lawmaker, or if it intends to commence a fresh probe. It, however, condemned the “blatant disregard for human life perpetrated by Boko Haram.”
The statement by the US embassy came a few days after US Congressman Scott Perry accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of funding global terrorist groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda, including their local affiliates such as Boko Haram in Nigeria.
During the inaugural session of an advisory body created by Mr Trump to cut US government spending, Mr Perry, last week, said the USAID’s annual budget of $697 million including cash shipments to madrasas (Islamic schools), has inadvertently funded terrorist training camps and extremist groups.
The lawmaker is a member of Mr Trump’s Republican Party and the American president has been accused by critics of trying to damage the integrity of institutions like the USAID and end their operations.
In January, Mr Trump suspended all foreign aid for 90 days, explaining that the pause was to determine whether the use of those funds aligned with America’s interests.
While condemning Boko Haram’s atrocities, the US Mission to Nigeria stated that “comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems are in place to help verify that U.S. assistance reaches intended recipients.”
“The United States condemns the violence and blatant disregard for human life perpetrated by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in Nigeria and the region,” it stated, adding that the US Secretary of State designated Boko Haram a Foreign Terrorist Organisation on 14 November 2013 “to block the organisation’s assets and fundraising efforts, prosecute individual members and restrict their travel to the United States.”
The United States continues to work with Nigeria and regional partners to counter terrorism, it added.
The Nigerian government has been grappling with the war on terrorism on many fronts. In the North-east, soldiers continue to fight against insurgents, including Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
The insurgency in the region is now entering two decades with no hope of its ending soon. Some analysts say foreign funding is one of the reasons terrorism lingers.
Both Boko Haram and ISWAP have received funding from Islamic State. But since the schism that rocked the movement in 2016, Boko Haram has been left to source its funds locally using schemes such as levies on farming communities, kidnapping for ransom and violent raids on villages.
Even though ISWAP still enjoys external funding, it continues to impose taxes on civilians living in their strongholds. In 2020, a court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) convicted six Nigerians for funding Boko Haram.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, February 20, 2025, endorsed to two bills establishing the Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji in Osun State, and the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin Ekiti, Ekiti State.
He said these specialised institutions will address the educational needs of the populace while driving research and innovation and contributing to the country’s overall economic growth and development.
He said the institutions will serve as training grounds for developing agriculture, science and technology professionals and enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global economy.
According to the National Universities Commission (NUC), Nigeria currently has 63 approved federal universities, 63 State universities, and 149 private universities.
On February 3, 2025, the president approved the establishment of the Federal University of Environment and Technology (FUET) in Ogoni town of Tai, Rivers State.
Tinubu also consented to the federal government’s takeover of a forfeited private university in Southern Kaduna and its transformation into a federal university.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France was entering a “new era” and that he planned to tell US President Donald Trump he could not “be weak” with Vladimir Putin.
Macron spoke to the French ahead of a planned visit to the White House to meet Trump next week, as Europe scrambles to respond to his Ukraine war shift.
“I’m going to tell him: ‘You can’t be weak with President Putin. That’s not who you are, it’s not your trademark, it’s not in your interest’”, Macron said as he answered questions from the French public on social media.
Trump will meet in Washington with Macron on Monday and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday next week, the White House said.
Trump has sent shock waves around Europe by saying he is ready to resume diplomacy with Putin to end Russia’s three-year war against Ukraine, over the heads of European countries and Kyiv.
In recent days French officials have said the French public needed to understand the magnitude of the threat coming from the Kremlin.
Macron told reporters earlier this week: “Russia poses an existential threat to Europeans.”
On Thursday, the French president said that France needed to beef up security amid the shock policy shift in US-Russia relations.
I am convinced that we are entering a new era. It will impose choices on us,” Macron said. “We Europeans must increase our war effort.”
Macron stressed he did not plan to send troops to Ukraine “tomorrow” but indicated that France was considering providing security guarantees to Ukraine following a ceasefire deal with Russia.
“I have not decided to send troops to Ukraine tomorrow, no,” he said.
“What we are considering instead is sending forces to guarantee peace once it has been negotiated,” he said.
Speaking to AFP earlier Thursday, a French source familiar with the discussions said France was working with European countries to ensure security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire agreement.
Macron also said he planned to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later Thursday.
AFP
…as bandits demand N100m ransom
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
An ex- presidential candidate, Eniola Ojajuni, has been reportedly shot and abducted by bandits in Abuja.
Mr Ojajuni was abducted from his vehicle on Monday, family sources revealed.
Mr Ojajuni was the presidential candidate of the defunct Alliance for Democracy, in 2019.
The politician was on his way to a meeting when he was attacked.
“The kidnappers have reached out to his (Mr Ojajuni) wife, demanding a ransom of N100 million,” said a source on Thursday.
The source also revealed that Mr Ojajuni, the national president of the Afenifere Youths Council, was shot in the buttocks during the attack.
“The Afenifere National Youths Council is deeply saddened to announce the kidnapping of its national president, Prince Eniola Joseph Ojajuni, in Abuja, Nigeria.
“During the kidnapping, Prince Ojajuni sustained a bullet wound on his buttock. We are deeply concerned about his safety and well-being, and we urge the kidnappers to release him unharmed,” the youth group said in a statement.
The FCT police command spokeswoman, Josephine Adeh, could not be immediately reached for a comment.
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