The Senate has summoned Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser; Adeola Ajayi, Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS); and the Director-Generals of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) to appear before it behind closed doors for explanations regarding allegations that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been sponsoring Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.
Scott Perry, a United States Congressman, alleged a few days ago that USAID has been funding Boko Haram’s activities in Nigeria.
Though Perry’s allegation is already under investigation by the US Congress, the Nigerian Senate also resolved to conduct its own inquiry during plenary on Wednesday.
Read also: Ndume tasks FG to investigate claims USAID funded Boko Haram
The Senate was drawn to the weighty allegation through a motion moved by Senator Ali Ndume and co-sponsored by five other senators.
After debating the motion, the Senate resolved to summon the NSA, the Director-General of DSS, and their counterparts in the NIA and DIA for a closed-door meeting at a date to be communicated to them.
Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, while sustaining the resolution, stated that security issues should not be discussed in public, noting that security intelligence heads would provide the Senate with a clearer perspective in a closed-door session.
Akpabio said, “I am convening an emergency closed session with Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser; the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency; the Director-General of the Department of State Services; and the Director-General of the Defence Intelligence Agency to provide an immediate briefing on the allegations surrounding USAID’s funding of Boko Haram in Nigeria. We must get to the bottom of this matter, and I expect a thorough and transparent briefing from our national security leadership.”
Details later…
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