The Federal Government yesterday directed financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions to maintain full compliance with sanctions obligations by freezing the assets of terrorist financiers.
The directive came against the backdrop of sanctions imposed on a Nigerian financier of ISIS, along with his three Bureaux De Change in Lagos and Kano, by the US government.
It will be recalled that the US government had used its Executive Order 13224, to sanction the Lagos-based financier, identified as Mukhtar Adamu Muhammad, 35, and the three BDCs, including Generation Currency Bureau De Change Limited; Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change Limited, and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited; for allegedly moving funds for ISIS, as part of a sweeping action targeting the group’s financial networks across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa.
Aside from Mukhtar Muhammad Adamu and three BDCs named by the US government, the Federal Government had earlier, on June 18, 2026, added six more names to the list of those to be sanctioned.
They include Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima; Adamu Chiroma; Ibrahim Abubakar; Abdullahi Umar Usman; Babangida Muhammed, Adamu Hammajam; and Abbal Bako & Sons Bureau De Change Limited.
Reacting to the US action yesterday, the Nigerian Sanctions Committee said in a statement: “The Federal Government reiterates its directive to all financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions to comply fully with all sanctions obligations, including asset-freezing requirements, the filing of Suspicious Transaction Reports and the reporting of relevant matches to the appropriate authorities.’’
While declaring that terrorists and their financiers will find no safe haven with Nigeria’s financial system, the committee said the action taken by the US government effectively places Washington’s weight behind sanctions already imposed by Nigeria, signalling a coordinated effort to choke off financial networks that helped sustain terrorists groups and other extreme actors.
The committee welcomed the decision of the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, to designate Mukthar Muhammad Adamu, Nine to Nine BDC Limited and Generation Currency BDC Limited.
The three were among those included in an update to the Nigeria Sanctions List published on June 18, 2026.
“Nigeria remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring that terrorists and their financiers find no safe haven within the country’s financial system,” the statement said.
According to the committee, the listing of six individuals and three entities followed extensive intelligence gathering, financial investigations and inter-agency assessments which established reasonable grounds to believe that the affected individuals and entities “facilitated, financed, supported or otherwise contributed to the activities of the Islamic State West Africa Province, ISWAP, and associated terrorist networks.”
The committee also commended the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the National Security Adviser for their roles in the sanctions process.
It further lauded the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Department of State Services, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit for supporting efforts to cut off the financial lifelines of terrorist organisations.
Commending the agencies, the committee said they had acted to ensure that terrorist groups were denied access to resources that sustained their activities.
The committee reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working with domestic and international partners to combat terrorism financing and strengthen the integrity of the country’s financial system.
“The government will continue to work closely with domestic stakeholders and international partners to safeguard national security, strengthen financial integrity and contribute to global efforts to combat terrorism and terrorist financing,” the statement added.
