EFCC, FBI Partner to Probe Alleged Diversion of USAID Health Funds

​The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have launched a joint investigation into the alleged diversion and mismanagement of multi-million-dollar grants disbursed under United States government-supported health initiatives.

​The high-level anti-graft collaboration was finalized during a strategic meeting on Thursday at the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC. An FBI delegation, headed by Assistant Law Enforcement Attaché Marcus Maccain, met with the EFCC’s Acting Zonal Director, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, who represented Commission Chairman Ola Olukoyede.

​According to U.S. authorities, the joint probe was triggered by financial inconsistencies and asset management questions following the abrupt shutdown of several United States Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes in 2025. The termination of these projects left substantial funds and institutional assets in the hands of local and international implementing organisations, raising strong suspicions of financial misconduct.

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​Jeremy Kennon, a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Inspector General, revealed that initial bilateral agreements between Washington and Abuja were primarily designed to combat public health crises, particularly HIV and tuberculosis, through specialized treatment centers. However, subsequent audits and reviews exposed severe financial irregularities, including heavily inflated project budgets spanning Kano State and several other regions across the country. Kennon noted that the malfeasance extends beyond Nigeria’s borders, reflecting a broader global pattern of grant mismanagement.

​In response, the FBI proposed a long-term intelligence-sharing framework to track misappropriated foreign aid.

​Reassuring the U.S. delegation of the Commission’s unwavering commitment, Kaltungo stated that the EFCC would cast a wide net across all affected states to trace every financial trail to its ultimate beneficiary. He emphasized that investigators will thoroughly audit how disbursements were utilized, verify whether funds served their intended humanitarian purposes, and recover any public assets illegally diverted following the cancellation of the health programmes.