Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have agreed to strengthen collaboration, intelligence sharing and joint investigations into the alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds provided under United States government-supported programmes in Nigeria.
The agencies will focus on tracing the funds, determining how they were used and investigating possible financial misconduct involving organisations that received funding, particularly for HIV and tuberculosis interventions.
The commitment was made on Thursday during a courtesy visit by an FBI delegation led by Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché, Marcus Maccain, to the Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC Lagos Zonal Directorate 2, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Bawa Kaltungo.
Maccain said the visit followed concerns arising from the shutdown of some USAID programmes by the United States Government in 2025, particularly over the management of unspent funds held by implementing organisations.
According to him, the termination of the programmes raised questions about how the funds were managed after the projects were discontinued.
He alleged that some organisations may have mismanaged or diverted portions of the funds, prompting the FBI to seek closer engagement with the EFCC to investigate the matter.
“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,” Maccain said.
Also speaking, Jeremy Kennon, a Special Agent with the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of State, said Nigeria and the United States had previously partnered to support HIV and tuberculosis programmes through funding provided to implementing organisations.
Kennon explained that some of the organisations established one-stop treatment centres for HIV patients, but subsequent reviews allegedly uncovered inflated budgets and other financial irregularities in Kano State and several other states.
He noted that similar concerns had been identified in other parts of the world, stressing that the FBI was interested in developing a long-term partnership with the EFCC on the investigation.
“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,” he said.
Responding, Kaltungo welcomed the delegation on behalf of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede and described Nigeria’s law enforcement relationship with the United States as a longstanding one.
He assured the FBI delegation that the EFCC would thoroughly investigate the allegations and trace the movement of the funds to their final beneficiaries.
Kaltungo said investigators would establish how the funds were spent, whether they were used for their intended purposes and whether any portion was diverted or mismanaged after the programmes were discontinued.
He added that the investigation would cover all states where the affected organisations operated, with the EFCC working closely with the FBI to follow the financial trail and establish the facts surrounding the allegations.