By Innocent Anaba
LAGOS: The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have agreed to deepen collaboration in investigating alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds provided under United States Government-supported programmes in Nigeria.
The resolve was reached on Thursday, September 10, 2026, when Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché of the FBI, Marcus Maccain, led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, Assistant Commander of the EFCC, ACE I Bawa Usman Kaltungo.
Speaking during the interactive session, Maccain said the visit was aimed at strengthening existing cooperation in investigating alleged financial irregularities involving organisations that received funds under programmes supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), particularly those relating to HIV and tuberculosis interventions.
He said the engagement became necessary following the shutdown of some USAID programmes by the United States Government in 2025, which, according to him, raised concerns over funds that remained with some implementing organisations after the programmes were discontinued.
Maccain said some organisations were suspected of mismanaging or allegedly diverting funds provided to them before the affected programmes were terminated.
“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, United States 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 both governments providing funding to organisations implementing related programmes.
He said some of the organisations established one-stop centres for HIV treatment.
Kennon, however, said subsequent reviews had raised concerns over alleged inflated budgets and other financial irregularities in Kano State and several other states.
He stressed that the concerns were not limited to Kano or Nigeria, adding that similar issues had been identified in other parts of the world.
Kennon said the FBI was interested in developing a long-term working relationship with the EFCC on the matter, including reciprocal intelligence and 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,” he said.
Responding, Kaltungo welcomed the delegation on behalf of EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, and described the relationship between Nigeria and the United States as long-standing, 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 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 determine how the money was spent and whether it was deployed for the purposes for which it was provided.
He said the investigation would also establish whether any portion of the funds was allegedly mismanaged or diverted following the cancellation of the programmes.
Kaltungo assured the delegation that the investigation would be coordinated and cover all states where the affected organisations and programmes operated.
He added that the EFCC would work with the FBI to follow the financial trail and establish the facts surrounding the alleged financial irregularities.
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