Following the recent statement by a US Senator that USAID funds Boko-Haram in Nigeria, the Nigerian National Assembly has launched investigations into the activities of USAID and nonprofits in the country. An investigative committee set up on February 20, 2025, by the House of Representatives will focus on the activities of CSOs in the Northwestern part of the country. The investigation will be led by Hon. Victor Obuzor, Chair House Committee on CSOs. The Committee is to investigate allegations of funding for Boko Haram and other international terrorist organisations by USAID. Despite Hon. Victor Obuzor’s reassurances that he would lead the investigation with diligence, transparency, and objectivity, CSOs are concerned about the objectivity of the investigation and its implications for their work. The debates on the floor of the House of Representatives and statements by lawmakers in support of the investigation show the lack of understanding and respect for freedom of association contributing to the ongoing negative narratives about the sector while heightening threats to the sector and its workforce. CSOs also fear that new restrictive laws on CSOs work might be discussed in Parliament.
If not objectively carried out, the investigation may become part of an ongoing process of attack on civil society and push for stiffer regulations, a common trend which started in 2015 and continues until today. Over the years and in a bid to justify the need for enacting these laws that will curtail the activities of the CSOs, narratives such as “NGOs are conduits for money laundering and terrorism financing” have grown but with no evidence. The funding freeze by the US government and ongoing dis/misinformation related to it has increased the pressure on the civil society sector, including renewed attacks. The growing narrative that NGOs in the country support terrorism, spread by government and other actors even before, has now found a home amidst the attacks on USAID and its operations both by US decision-makers, security agencies in the country and a section of the public. If not properly handled, the investigation and the related narratives being spread can lead to the passage of additional, restrictive laws and further decrease public trust in the work of civil society.