Aid workers question USAID counter-terror clause in Nigeria

Reaching all those in need in conflict-hit northeastern Nigeria has long been a struggle for aid workers. But now – in addition to the hostility of the jihadist insurgents and a Nigerian military suspicious of humanitarian efforts – the US development agency has imposed controversial new restrictions on those who can be helped with the money it provides.

USAID, the biggest funder by far in Nigeria, introduced a clause late last year into all its grant contracts with tough new conditions aimed at preventing Boko Haram and the breakaway Islamic State of West Africa Province, or ISWAP, from benefiting from US assistance.