USAID’s alleged support for Boko Haram unproven—Tuggar

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has stated that Nigeria is looking into claims that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is backing Boko Haram, noting that the allegation remains unverified. Speaking during the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing Series on Thursday in Abuja, Tuggar emphasized that Nigeria is taking the allegation seriously. He said that despite these concerns, Boko Haram has been significantly degraded, and the government is actively working to rehabilitate and reintegrate affected individuals. He highlighted the Safe Corridor program in Gombe, where former militants, combatants, and non-combatants are being assessed and provided with the necessary support.
He said, “With regards to the dignity of Nigeria and this allegation, because it is an allegation, it’s not something that has been proven. And we know that politics is also played in the United States of America. They have partisan politics. It’s not our business. We’re not getting involved in their domestic politics. I can tell you for free that Boko Haram has been severely degraded. We have a Safe Corridor in Gombe where suspected militants, combatants, and non-combatants, those that were trapped during the conflict, are being sorted out. Those that need to be reoriented are being reoriented. Those that need to be tried are being tried. Those that need to be supported and resettled are being resettled,” Tuggar explained. The minister also praised Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategies, noting that the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) has become a model for other nations.
“Somalia is looking at what we’re doing, saying they want to copy us, and several others. Sometimes, we take for granted some of the homegrown solutions we come up with. The Multinational Joint Task Force is being studied by developed countries, asking, ‘How are these guys doing it?’ We want to do the same thing,” he said. Tuggar also recalled Nigeria’s long-standing contributions to peacekeeping missions across Africa, including efforts in Sierra Leone and Liberia, urging Nigerians to recognize the country’s achievements in security and diplomacy. “We really need to start looking at ourselves differently. We need to start looking at our model and our applications. We need to start looking at what we did with regards to peacebuilding in Sierra Leone, in Liberia, and what we’re doing now in the Northeast,” he said.