The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have stepped up collaboration to investigate alleged diversion and mismanagement of funds provided under United States Government-supported programmes in Nigeria.
The two agencies reached the agreement on Thursday, September 10, 2026, when the FBI Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché, Macus 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.
Maccain said the visit was aimed at strengthening existing cooperation, intelligence sharing and operational coordination in investigating alleged financial irregularities involving organisations that received funding under programmes supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), particularly HIV and tuberculosis interventions.
He said the investigation became necessary following the shutdown of some USAID-funded programmes by the United States Government in 2025, which subsequently raised concerns over the management of funds that remained with implementing organisations after the programmes were discontinued.
According to him, some beneficiary organisations were suspected of mismanaging or diverting funds provided before the termination of the affected programmes.
“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, Special Agent, Office of Inspector General, United States Department of State, said the US and Nigerian governments had previously entered into agreements to support HIV and tuberculosis interventions, with funding provided to organisations implementing the programmes.
He explained that some of the organisations established one-stop centres to provide HIV treatment and related services.
Kennon, however, disclosed that subsequent reviews had raised concerns over inflated budgets and other financial irregularities in Kano State and several other states.
He stressed that the concerns extended beyond Kano and Nigeria, noting that similar issues had been identified in other parts of the world.
Kennon expressed the FBI’s interest in establishing a long-term working relationship with the EFCC, particularly through 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 FBI delegation on behalf of the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, and described Nigeria-US law enforcement cooperation as long-standing, particularly in tackling financial crimes.
He assured the delegation that the EFCC would investigate allegations surrounding the diversion and mismanagement of USAID funds across the country and trace the movement of the funds to their ultimate beneficiaries.
Kaltungo said the financial trail would help investigators determine how the funds were spent, whether they were deployed for their intended purposes and whether any portion was mismanaged or diverted following the cancellation of the programmes.
He further assured the FBI delegation that the investigation would be coordinated and extend to all states where the affected organisations and programmes operated.
The EFCC, he added, would work closely with the FBI to trace the funds, identify beneficiaries and establish the facts surrounding the alleged financial misconduct.
